Encore Development will offer buyers the opportunity to purchase condominums in the historic Wormley School on Prospect St. at the end of this month.
The once-dilapidated building served as a public school until 1952, but fell into disrepair until the District sold it to Georgetown University in 1997, which in turn sold it to Encore Development in 2006.
The old building is currently little more than a four-story hollow brick shell, with most of the interior walls and all of the floors removed.
By next spring, though, seven luxury condos, between 1,500 and 4,000 square feet each, will be ready for move-in, according to Encore President Gary Kirstein.
Alongside the condos, six rowhouses are planned for the old schoolyard, but will not be finished until after the condo residents have moved into their new homes.
“It’s been a slow process because the building is historic,” Kirstein said.
“Everybody takes a shot at you,” he added, referring to Georgetown’s strict construction regulations.
Chris Morrison, a Cunningham + Quill architect working on the project, said that the three-story, 4,000 square foot rowhouses will be in the character of the other homes in the neighborhood, with small lawns and shaped brick. However, they will be wider and, most importantly, each condo comes with a spot in an underground garage shared with the school.
“These all have parking in the below-grade garage,” Morrison said.
Kirstein said that Encore had not yet decided what prices they will ask for the new condominiums.
Nancy Wilson, a realtor who sells homes in Georgetown, said $700,000 is the lower bound for townhouses in the neighborhood. She added that any new construction in Georgetown will have a hefty price tag. “More than likely it will be in the upper brackets,” she said.
