The subject property is a through lot, rectangular in shape, having frontage on both 34th and 35th Streets, and consisting of approximately 54,292 square feet of land area. The subject property is developed with a three-story building of masonry construction, which was built in 1892 as a public school. The subject property, known as the Fillmore Elementary School, is presently owned by the District of Columbia Public Schools and is being sold as surplus property. The Corcoran Gallery of Art is the contract purchaser and intends to use the property as an art school. N.W. The Corcoran School of Art officially opened in 1890 with 40 students in both day and evening classes.
Students take classes in ceramics, computer graphics, design, drawing and painting, photography.
In addition to its downtown location, the Corcoran School of Art leases a building at Wisconsin Avenue and Reservoir Road, just over two blocks from the subject site, where it holds classes in graphic design, computer graphics, silk-screen and papermaking, drawing, and painting. That building is located in a commercial zone, contains approximately 18,000 square feet of floor area. Students who drive to that site must compete with the neighbors for on-street parking. The Corcoran proposes to purchase the subject building as a replacement facility for that leased space. The three-story former public school building is slightly smaller in size than the existing location, and is an ideal facility for the Corcoran.