The expected completion of the Tenley Campus for AU’s Washington College of Law has been pushed back to the end of the Fall 2015 semester due to construction delays.
Poor weather conditions and infrastructural issues with Capital Hall, one of the preserved buildings on the Tenley campus, have resulted in construction delays, according to David Taylor, President Neil Kerwin’s chief-of-staff.
“Architects and construction engineers for the Tenley campus have reported construction delays, and rough weather over the past year slowed the project. Most significantly, there were some structural challenges with the Capital Hall building, which needed to be preserved/utilized as part of design for the new school,” Taylor said in an email.
As completion of Tenley campus looms, many WCL students are willing to wait.
Abdulmajed Alrajhi, a WCL student in the Doctor of Juridical Science (S.J.D.) program expected to graduate in Spring 2016, said he looked forward to the new campus but understood construction delays.
“I personally don’t mind it because I’m kind of used to the current WCL building, and I also understand that sometimes it is hard to have construction done on time,” Alrajhi said.
Initially, there were plans to move part of the WCL school into the completed parts of the campus in the fall 2015 semester. However, AU and WCL administration thought it would be more practical and efficient for the whole school to move in at one time in the winter, Claudio Grossman, WCL dean, wrote in a letter to the WCL community.
“By moving the entire institution as a unit, instead of piecemeal, we will save money, eliminate the need to operate out of two separate campuses, and achieve a continuity of operation with the least possible disruption to the ongoing academic mission of WCL,” Grossman said in a letter released in the neighborhood newsletter.
The Tenley Campus is more conveniently located and transit accessible to AU than the WCL’s current location at 4801 Massachusetts Avenue.
“Tenley campus location is much better than the current one. The new location will provide us, as students, easier access to DC public transportation and also, will provide us with variety of residence, housing and restaurants,” Alrajhi said. “Finally, I think that the new campus will improve the school ranking in the state and internationally.”
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