The Corcoran School (built 1889) is a historic building located at 1219 28th Street NW in the Georgetown neighborhood in

Washington, D.C. Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly known as Washington or D.C., is the capital city and federal district of the United States. The city is on the Potomac River, across from Virginia, and shares land borders with ...

The original school was named for Thomas Corcoran, former mayor of Georgetown, and was developed to accommodate the Caucasian population in the area. The school comprises approximately 24,000 square feet total and sits on a lot that extends down to M Street.

History

Located at 28th and M Streets NW, the building was originally developed as an elementary school in 1889 and operated in that capacity for sixty-two years. It was named after former Georgetown mayor, Thomas Corcoran. Thomas Corcoran's son was

William Wilson Corcoran William Wilson Corcoran (December 27, 1798 – February 24, 1888) was an American banker, philanthropist, and art collector. He founded the Corcoran Gallery of Art in Washington, D.C. Early life and education Corcoran was born on December 27, ...

, founder of the well-known

Corcoran Gallery of Art The Corcoran Gallery of Art is a former art museum in Washington, D.C., that is now the location of the Corcoran School of the Arts and Design, a part of the George Washington University. Founded in 1869 by philanthropist William Wilson Corco ...

in Washington, D.C. It was built as a school for Caucasian children in the area and ran successfully until the mid-1900s because of inability to keep the school full. The school board made the decision to close the school in 1947, but reversed its decision a year later "until it can be determined if extensive building and remodeling of homes in Georgetown will result in increased school attendance by white children". The school ultimately closed in 1950. Following closure of the school, the city used the building for administrative purposes. In 1981, the city attempted to auction the building off but was unsuccessful, until the Hotel and Restaurant Workers Union purchased it for $1.8 million at an auction in 1982.

Hotel and Restaurant Workers Union

The labor union, now known as

UNITE HERE UNITE HERE is a labor union in the United States and Canada with roughly 300,000 active members. The union's members work predominantly in the hotel, food service, laundry, warehouse, and casino gaming industries. The union was formed in 2004 b ...

, purchased the building in 1982 to be used as its international headquarters. It outbid Royce Lanier, an architect hoping to restore or lease the school. The Union was founded in 1891 and merged with the Union of Needletrades, Industrial and Textile Employees (UNITE) in 2004 to become UNITE HERE.

American Road & Transportation Builders Association

In 2005, the American Road & Transportation Builders Association (ARTBA) purchased the building from the Hotel and Restaurant Workers Union for $7.3 million. ARTBA was founded in 1902 and lists on its website that it is "the oldest and most respected national transportation construction-related association".

State of Qatar Ministry of Defense

The government of the

Qatar Qatar, officially the State of Qatar, is a country in West Asia. It occupies the Geography of Qatar, Qatar Peninsula on the northeastern coast of the Arabian Peninsula in the Middle East; it shares Qatar–Saudi Arabia border, its sole land b ...

, specifically the Qatar Ministry of Defense, purchased the building from ARTBA on December 15, 2016. The final sale price was approximately $17 million. The purchase follows a pattern of recent Qatari-related investments in Washington, D.C, the capital of the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

. The Club Quarters Hotel was purchased by

Doha Doha ( ) is the capital city and main financial hub of Qatar. Located on the Persian Gulf coast in the east of the country, north of Al Wakrah and south of Al Khor (city), Al Khor and Lusail, it is home to most of the country's population. It ...

-based Al Sraiya Holding Group for $52.4 million in early 2016. Prior to that, "Duwaliya US Real Estate Inc. bought 1575 Eye St. NW for $107.9 million about a year ago, the Al Rayyan Tourism Investment Co. bought the St. Regis in 2015 for about $82 million, and the

Qatar Investment Authority The Qatar Investment Authority (QIA; ) is Qatar's sovereign wealth fund. The QIA was founded by the State of Qatar in 2005 to strengthen the country's economy by diversifying into new asset classes. In November 2024, the QIA had an estimated $526 ...

financed a large portion of

CityCenterDC CityCenterDC, colloquially called CityCenter, is a mixed-use development consisting of two condominium buildings, two rental apartment buildings, two office buildings, a luxury hotel, and public park in Downtown (Washington, D.C.), downtown Wash ...

". ''

The Washington Post ''The Washington Post'', locally known as ''The'' ''Post'' and, informally, ''WaPo'' or ''WP'', is an American daily newspaper published in Washington, D.C., the national capital. It is the most widely circulated newspaper in the Washington m ...

'' reported that CityCenterDC was its first D.C. real estate venture, and it became the primary owner of the project following its investment of $650 million into the development. In the past, the Qataris have typically focused their investments in

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

and greater

Europe Europe is a continent located entirely in the Northern Hemisphere and mostly in the Eastern Hemisphere. It is bordered by the Arctic Ocean to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the west, the Mediterranean Sea to the south, and Asia to the east ...

References

External links

* {{Georgetown, Washington, D.C. Defunct schools in Washington, D.C. Qatar–United States relations Former school buildings in the United States Georgetown (Washington, D.C.)