Add a preschool to the list of ways PN Hoffman is trying to build a neighborhood from scratch in Southwest D.C.

The Goddard School has signed a lease with PN Hoffman to open its 23rd D.C.-area school at a new apartment building under construction across the street from the $2.5B The Wharf megaproject.

The preschool, which has 480 locations in 36 states, will be in 7,700 SF on the ground floor of The Banks, a 10-story, 173-unit apartment building at the corner of Seventh and Eye streets SW. The school will be owned and run by Taylor Pope, who, along with his mother and grandfather, own two other Goddard Schools.

"For more than a decade, we have worked to re-establish this community and bring back the schools, residences, public spaces and stores that help a neighborhood thrive,” PN Hoffman CEO Monty Hoffman said in a statement. “The Banks, and The Goddard School, will be an incredible addition for families and office workers in the area.”

The Banks is being built separately from The Wharf, the 3.2M SF being developed by PN Hoffman and Madison Marquette. The more than $1B Phase 1 of that project opened last year to much fanfare and early success, and plans are already in the works for Phase 2, which will have more office and luxury condo buildings.