Howard University’s incoming Class of 2030 is moving into dorms just as a major piece of Georgia Avenue is beginning to change. Wonder Plaza is headed toward a nine-story student-focused development with new housing, dining, retail and wellness space expected in 2029.
The former Wonder Bread bakery has served as a Howard-owned property since 1993, but its next chapter is already beginning: WTOP reports that soft-demolition work is underway. Howard’s real-estate division lists Greystar as the development partner for the project.
A Nine-Story Student Hub Is Planned For 2029
Howard’s project materials describe a mixed-use campus hub with roughly 280 student-housing units and 592 beds, along with a dining hall, wellness center and ground-floor retail. The planned facility is designed to put more student life directly on the Georgia Avenue frontage, according to Howard’s development plan.
The wellness component is expected to include recreation space, while the dining and retail areas could give students and neighbors a new reason to linger along the corridor. For a campus that has spent years adding and renovating housing, Wonder Plaza would become one of Howard’s most visible attempts to blend residential life with a more active street-level environment.
Georgia Avenue Is Losing Familiar Food Stops First
The redevelopment is arriving after several longtime businesses left or prepared to leave the plaza, including Negril Jamaican Eatery, Chipotle, Subway and Potbelly. The Hilltop reported that Negril planned to relocate while the university reclaimed the site for the larger project.
That has created an awkward transition for students: the old restaurants are disappearing before the replacement dining options arrive. Reagann Davis told WTOP that students currently have two cafeterias and a Chick-fil-A on campus, while McDonald’s on Georgia Avenue has become one of the few nearby choices.
The Project Fits A Bigger Lower Georgia Avenue Shift
Wonder Plaza is part of Howard’s broader campus master plan, but it also lands in a corridor the District has targeted for more housing, retail and pedestrian activity. The D.C. Office of Planning describes Georgia Avenue as a major neighborhood corridor anchored in part by Howard University and envisioned as a more inviting, active main street.
Howard’s campus updates say Wonder Plaza tenants and university services have been relocated or scheduled for relocation to clear the site for construction. That means the Class of 2030 will experience Georgia Avenue in an in-between phase: fewer familiar storefronts now, followed by a much denser campus gateway if the project reaches its projected 2029 delivery.
