Knapp to live in Alumni House

Incoming GW President Steve Knapp will live on campus when he moves to D.C. this fall, the University announced today.

Knapp will move into the Alumni House on F Street, making him the first GW president to live in Foggy Bottom since the University moved to the area in 1912.

With Knapp and his wife moving to the historic campus location, the Alumni House will no longer be operational for University staff and student activities. The 15 staff members from alumni relations who currently work in the Alumni House will move across the street to the University Club.

The first floor of the University Club will also be used to “provide space for student activities on the first floor,” according to a release.

The University Club is a GW-owned building that currently houses RH Bistro in its basement and its vending partner, Catering Solutions, no the third floor. A University spokesperson said the reconstruction details of the University Club have not yet been developed and it is unclear what will remain or what will change in the building. However, the spokesperson did say that the contract for Catering Solutions — which run independent of the University’s food service provider, Sodexho — was not renewed.

The University will sell the current president’s residence on Bancroft Place, where outgoing President Stephen Joel Trachtenberg has lived. The revenue from that sale will be returned to the University’s endowment.

The Alumni House, which is an historic landmark, will be renovated to preserve its “historic character,” with “attention… to incorporating energy efficient measures that are consistent with historic preservation standards.”

A community meeting is scheduled for July 17 at 6:30 p.m. to discuss plans for the renovation, the University said. The concepts for the renovation will be submitted to the District of Columbia two days later, on July 19.

In the meantime, the Knapps will live in an apartment in the West End neighborhood. Knapp assumes the presidency on Aug. 1.

The Alumni House, previously known as the F Street Club, is located on the corner of F and 21 Streets, across from the FSK and Potomac House residence halls.

In an interview last month, Knapp said that he was interested in living in the Alumni House because its location directly in Foggy Bottom would allow him to be “part of life on campus… (and) part of the Foggy Bottom community,” ideal for events in the area. He was also interested in its history as a salon and meeting place for some of Washington’s elites.

As for its location close to the road and often rowdy residence halls, Knapp brushed it off.

“You know, it’s living in the city, right?” he said.