Raze Application Filed For Howard's Wonder Plaza, Clearing Path For New Fusion Building

• August 24th

by UrbanTurf Staff

✉️ Want to forward this article? Click here.

Howard University has taken another step toward transforming its stretch of Georgia Avenue: a raze application has been filed for 2301 Georgia Avenue NW, the site of the Wonder Plaza strip that has long housed fast-casual restaurants and retail beneath office space. The filing is a procedural milestone for the university's plan to replace the aging property with the Fusion Building, a mixed-use development anchored by student housing.

Howard and developer Greystar filed plans in late 2024 for the roughly 430,000-square-foot project, which is set to deliver 280 student housing units (nearly 600 beds), ground-floor retail, a new dining hall, and a comprehensive wellness center with weight training areas, two basketball courts, and an indoor track. WDG Architecture is designing the building, which will also include about 160 underground parking spaces alongside 106 long-term and 32 short-term bicycle parking spots -- a nod to the university's expectation that most student residents will walk to campus rather than drive.

The raze filing follows the DC Zoning Commission's vote late last year to rezone 27 acres of university-controlled land along the corridor, a move that was necessary to unlock the Wonder Plaza redevelopment along with other projects near Howard University Hospital. In the months since, longtime tenants of the plaza -- including Negril Jamaican Eatery and Potbelly Sandwich Shop -- have already closed, with Chipotle and Subway expected to follow.

With the raze application now in hand, the project clears a key procedural hurdle before demolition and construction can move forward. Howard has not announced a firm construction timeline, but the filing signals that the university's vision for a new "student-focused campus epicenter" on Georgia Avenue is inching closer to breaking ground.

This article originally published at https://dc.urbanturf.com/articles/blog/raze_application_filed_for_howards_wonder_plaza_clearing_path_for_new_fusio/24925.