Lib. Acquires New Property

Harvard has expanded the resources for the Dumbarton Oaks research library with the purchase of a property in Washington, D.C., that will eventually house the institute’s research fellows.

The new building, located at 1700 Wisconsin Avenue, was purchased in May for $7 million.

The property will provide the fellows with a much-needed residence, according to Dumbarton Oaks director Jan M. Ziolkowski. The proximity of the new building will allow fellows to “take full advantage of access to collections and colleagues at the institute,” he said.

Dumbarton Oaks is a satellite library and research institution housed in an historic building in the Georgetown neighborhood of D.C. It runs several fellowship programs devoted to its area of focus on Byzantine studies, Pre-Columbian studies, and garden and landscape studies.

As with the finances of other Harvard institutions, Dumbarton Oaks’s endowments are managed as dedicated funds within the overall endowment, according to a University spokesman.

The institution’s endowment income has outpaced its expenditures in recent years, and the resulting reserves will be used to fund capital projects, including the purchase of the building.

According to a University spokesman, Dumbarton Oaks has been looking for an opportunity to expand for several years, and the current real estate market made this an auspicious time to buy.

Ziolkowski said in a statement that the building will be remodeled to reflect its new role as a residential complex.

Proposed renovations to the building will include window replacements, new heating and cooling systems, 25 residential units for the fellows, and the addition of a fourth floor and a side annex, according to GeorgetownPatch.

The property may also receive some more modern touches, such as the creation of vertical garden on one side of the building, and a glass window running up the center of the building.

The property is currently inhabited by the Cameroon Embassy, which leases the building from the current owners of the property.

Dumbarton Oaks plans to renovate the space after the Cameroon Embassy vacates following the end of its lease in January.

The Cameroon Embassy did not return requests for comment.

Though the property does fall within an official landmark district, the renovations will not have to follow the D.C. Historic Preservation Office’s guidelines. Instead, the renovations must be approved by the Old Georgetown Board before they are executed.

—Staff writer Zoe A. Y. Weinberg can be reached at zoe.weinberg@college.harvard.edu.