Gallaudet U. Picks JBG Cos. for 6th Street NE Project

WASHINGTON, DC— The Gallaudet University Board of Trustees voted on Friday to have the university's real estate foundation enter into exclusive negotiations for a development agreement with Chevy Chase, MD-based The JBG Cos. for its ambitious mixed-use 6th Street NE project here.

The JBG Companies was selected as the foundation's development partner for the 6th Street NE project following a yearlong developer selection process, the university states. More than 30 developers expressed interest in the project by visiting Gallaudet during a site tour in June 2013, with 13 submitting a response to the Request for Qualifications. Four teams were invited to respond to the Request for Proposals, with The JBG Companies being selected from among those finalists.

The 6th Street NE project is part of an overall campus phased redevelopment plan to be initiated over the next 10 years and is valued at $450 million, according to the Washington Business Journal.

"The 6th Street properties encompass seven acres both on- and off-campus and the goal is to create a distinct destination in Northeast D.C.," says Fred Weiner, CEO of the Gallaudet University Foundation. "The foundation felt that the breadth and depth of JBG's experience in the District, as well as its careful attention to nuances of the deaf community such as the incorporation of DeafSpace design elements into its proposal will go a long way toward enriching this neighborhood through our culture and language, as well as allow for greater interaction between our campus community and our neighbors."

Gallaudet University, federally chartered in 1864, is a bilingual, diverse, multicultural institution of higher education that ensures the intellectual and professional advancement of deaf and hard of hearing individuals through American Sign Language and English.