Title: A Guide to New Buildings, Residence Halls and Construction at Georgetown

When students returned to Georgetown this fall, many stepped into new spaces and new buildings across campuses.

The university opened residences for junior and seniors on the Hilltop Campus and a sprawling headquarters for the School of Continuing Studies, Earth Commons Institute, Capitol Applied Learning Labs (CALL) and other academic programs on the Capitol Campus.

Some familiar spaces were also updated: the ground floor of Healy Hall was transformed into a bright, welcoming home for the Georgetown Scholars Program and Catholic ministry; and a central study spot in Lauinger Library received sweeping views of the Potomac as part of an ongoing renovation. 

Throughout all the academic and student life improvements, sustainability has remained at the core. 

“Every new project fulfills the university’s sustainability strategic priorities and incorporates the spirit of Laudato Si’: the university’s commitment to care for our common home and reduce our climate footprint in partnership with the entire Georgetown community,” said Ayana Thomas, associate vice president for sustainable business operations.

Come see what we’ve been up to at Georgetown over the summer, above and below ground.

New Buildings on the Hilltop

In August, the doors opened to Georgetown’s new residence halls to offer more housing options for juniors and seniors.

The two-year project on the site of the former Henle Village culminated in fully furnished apartments, with in-unit washer and dryers, full-size kitchens and indoor and outdoor spaces to gather, study and unwind.

The new residence halls, Byrnes and Hayden, are larger, more accessible and more sustainably designed than the previous housing. The buildings are on track to achieve Leadership in Energy & Environmental Design (LEED) Platinum certification, the highest tier of energy efficiency, cost-savings and carbon emissions reduction.

“Byrnes, Hayden and Henle Halls show what student life can be like for an upperclass student in a university residence hall,” said Nico Hohman, director of capital projects. “We’re excited to provide students the space to build a rich community life on the Hilltop.”

New Building on the Capitol Campus

This August, staff, students and faculty moved into Georgetown’s newest building on the Capitol Campus, 111 Massachusetts Ave. 

The educational hub is the home of the School of Continuing Studies, the Earth Commons Institute, Capitol Applied Learning Labs, as well as interdisciplinary programs, meeting spaces, student lounges and study spaces. Like the new residence halls on the Hilltop, the sustainably designed building is on track to achieve LEED Platinum certification.

In October, Georgetown will open the Campus Store on the first floor of the building. The 5,600-square-foot store will sell books, merchandise, snacks and gifts. It will be operated by Barnes & Noble College.

Renovating Historic Spaces

Healy Ground Floor

In the late 1800s, the ground floor of Healy Hall was used as an indoor track. Over the next 100 years, it was used as a bowling alley, laboratory, air-raid shelter, student center with a record store and pub, and an office space.

In May 2025, the ground floor debuted a fresh new look and purpose. After redesigns that incorporate historic elements of Healy Hall, the area is a renovated home for the Georgetown Scholars Program, the Hehir Center for Catholic Life and the Manresa Student Lounge with a meditation room, kitchen and study space.

“Located in Healy Hall, at the heart of Georgetown’s Hilltop Campus, this space is taking on new life, supporting students’ experience of growth and exemplifying ‘cura personalis,’” said Allison Gosser, assistant director of project programming.

The Healy Hall ground floor space is open to all Georgetown students, faculty and staff. A formal ribbon-cutting ceremony is scheduled for the end of September.

Philodemic Room

This past summer, Georgetown completed a year-long renovation of the Philodemic Room, a historic space in Healy Hall used by the Philodemic Society, one of the oldest debate societies in the U.S. 

Following a 2019 report by the Philodemic Society’s Committee on Slavery, Memory and Reconciliation, which examined the room and the history of the undergraduate debate organization, Georgetown partnered with the Society to envision and update the physical space. 

The renovation preserved the historic character of the room while adding new decorative elements and depictions of famous orators and community members designed to honor Georgetown’s values. Today, in addition to providing space for the debate society, the room also hosts special events, lectures, panel discussions, receptions and meetings.

Library Renovations

Since January of this year, Georgetown has been renovating the Pierce Reading Room, a central study spot located on the third floor of Lauinger Library.

The new space will feature a mix of informal study areas and small group collaboration rooms as well as a new Digital Lab with an interactive video wall. The project will also expand the room and open up views of the Potomac River. 

The renovations are expected to be completed in December 2025.

A New Starscape

There’s new life on the grounds of the Heyden Observatory. 

The Garden of the Stars is a new art installation and interactive learning experience, or, as postdoctoral researcher Catherine Maggiori calls it, “a celestial dreamscape for terrestrial plants.” 

Each plant in the garden is paired with a solar-powered lantern that’s tuned to the wavelengths of different star classes and colors. Visitors can tour the garden after sunset to see it glow and learn more about the intersection of astrobiology and the environment.

“We envision the Garden of the Stars as an interstitial space where life as we know it meets conditions that might support living beings elsewhere in the universe,” said Sarah Stewart Johnson, a professor in the Department of Biology and Science, Technology and International Affairs Program who helped create the garden.

“The garden thereby provides a scientific learning opportunity for visitors as well as an impetus to celebrate life on Earth, integrating ecology with the vast cosmos and encouraging participants to care for our precious common home.”

The garden was developed with support from Earth Commons’ Green Commons Award and created in collaboration with Johnson, Professor Dagomar Degroot and Jonathon Keats, the artist in residence for the Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence Institute.

Interior and Exterior Upgrades

This summer, Georgetown staff have been hard at work on interior upgrades.

In the Reiss Science Building, the university is renovating laboratories, classrooms, floors in the corridors and the building’s roof and updating its interior design. On the fourth floor, GU Workspaces opened to faculty and staff for short-term booking of private offices, conference rooms and shared workspaces. The Reiss project is expected to be completed in September.

Georgetown also replaced the floors in Yates Field House and the bleachers and floors in McDonough Arena. New field lights were also installed on Shaw Field, where the women’s and men’s soccer teams play, for night games.

Inside the Student Health Center on the Hilltop Campus, Georgetown is finishing construction to make the center’s reception and intake areas more welcoming and accessible for students. The changes will improve the check-in process, triage stations and waiting areas.

The Student Health Center’s new clinic on the Capitol Campus will open in early November. Located in the 500 1st building, the space will be co-located with the Counseling and Psychiatric Services, Student Outreach & Support and Health Education Services.

Georgetown is also rounding phase three of its renovation of Healy and Copley Lawn. The three-year project is replacing aging underground utilities with more energy-efficient infrastructure. This summer and fall the project is focusing on 37th St. from O St. to Prospect St., Healy Circle, a part of Copley Lawn and Old North Way.

The entire project will be completed in spring 2027.