Wonder Plaza
Wonder Plaza will transform a historic Georgia Avenue landmark into a mixed-use campus destination that brings new student housing, expanded dining choices, wellness amenities, and gathering spaces closer to the center of Howard life.
2026-2027 Academic Year Opening Status: Preservation, enabling, and soft-demolition activities are underway. Wonder Plaza is a multi-year development and will remain an active project site throughout the academic year.
From Working Bakery to Campus Gateway
The story of the site begins long before it became known as Wonder Plaza. The Corby Baking Company developed its Georgia Avenue complex in the early twentieth century and expanded it into one of Washington's largest and most technologically advanced commercial bakeries. Continental Baking Company, the maker of Wonder Bread, acquired the operation in 1925 and continued baking at the site until 1988.
Howard acquired the property in 1993 and adapted the surviving buildings for University, technology, innovation, retail, and community uses. The next chapter retains the site's recognizable industrial identity while establishing a more complete campus destination, with student housing, dining, wellness, and gathering woven into the life of Georgia Avenue.
Why Wonder Plaza Matters
Wonder Plaza is designed to make daily life at Howard more connected, convenient, and vibrant. By bringing substantial new student housing together with an expanded mix of dining and retail in one walkable destination, the project will give more students the opportunity to live close to campus and create more places for the Howard community to eat, gather, recharge, and spend time together. Wellness amenities and welcoming public spaces will deepen that experience, while preservation of the Wonder Bread complex carries a familiar Georgia Avenue landmark into its next chapter.
- Student living: New residences will expand the number of students who can live within walking distance of classrooms, libraries, campus services, and the energy of University life.
- Dining and retail: A broader mix of restaurants and everyday destinations will give students, faculty, staff, and neighbors more choices along Georgia Avenue.
- Wellness and gathering: Recreation, wellness, and social spaces will support healthy routines, connection, and a stronger sense of belonging.
- Historic continuity: Defining elements of the Wonder Bread complex will be preserved and integrated into a development shaped for future generations.
From Preservation to Construction
Relocations and early permitting have cleared the way for work to begin. Site barriers are in place, interior abatement has been completed, and soft demolition is underway. Selective work will preserve key portions of the Georgia Avenue and Bryant Street facades while compromised areas are rebuilt and the site is prepared for new construction.
Preservation and demolition activities are expected to continue through the early phases of the project, followed by excavation, concrete, and vertical construction. Wonder Plaza remains a multi-year development with a current delivery horizon in 2029.
What You Will See Along Georgia Avenue
Construction impacts are already visible along the Georgia Avenue corridor. Additional updates about access and traffic will be shared as conditions develop.
The conceptual rendering communicates the project's current design direction and may evolve as design and delivery progress. Schedule information reflects current targets as of the opening of the 2026-2027 academic year and may change as work progresses.