Construction at Prep
An aerial photograph shows Prep's campus in August 2007.
Georgetown Preparatory School began two major construction projects in the spring of 2005. One, the construction of new athletic and learning centers, will drastically enhance the school's academic and athletic facilities. The other project, a luxury apartment complex, is financing the school's construction and will increase Prep's endowment.
Prep's recently concluded capital campaign, Vision, will support the new athletic and learning centers, as well as increase endowment for faculty salaries, student financial aid and building maintenance.
The construction of a new athletic center, fields and campus roads became a reality when the $35 million project broke ground on Monday, May 16, 2005. The project included rebuilding the golf course and athletic fields and constructing new roads around campus. The Hanley Center for Athletic Excellence, which opened in January 2007, houses a 200-meter indoor track, 6,000-square-foot weight training and fitness room, 1,000-seat competition basketball gym, 10-lane competition pool, wrestling room, expanded locker rooms and coaches’ offices and an athletic hall of fame. Hess Construction of Gaithersburg, Md., was the general contractor.
Phase II of the campus master plan began this past summer, with construction underway to convert the current pool and field house into a learning center. When completed, it will conclude $70 million of capital improvements and renovations on Prep's campus.
To pay for the athletic and learning centers and other needs, Prep agreed to lease 3.34 acres along Tuckerman Lane for 99 years to JPI Apartment Development, L.P., which began construction on a 473-unit luxury apartment complex in April 2005. Prep will receive $1.6 million in rent during the first full year of the lease. Revenue will increase annually by 3 percent. At the end of the lease, Prep will take possession of the land and complex, or the lease may be extended. Payments will total more than $888 million over the course of the lease and allow Prep to significantly increase its endowment.
With the revenue from the apartment development ground lease and the success of the Vision Campaign, neither construction project will necessitate an increase in tuition level or student body size.