MRP Buying Gallery Place At 17% Of Assessed Value
The massive Gallery Place mixed-use property next to Capital One Arena appears poised to sell at a substantial discount to its assessed value.
The pending acquisition of the 660K SF property by an MRP Realty-led joint venture, first disclosed in March, was revealed in new court documents to have a price point of $39M, the Washington Business Journal reported.
The property — made up of office, retail and condos — is owned by Oxford Properties and has been in receivership since May 2023. Court documents show the property’s 229K SF of office is nearly 86% vacant and its 260K SF of retail is about 42% vacant, the WBJ reported. Its retail tenants include Regal Cinema, Clyde's, Planet Fitness and an AT&T store.
MRP was the winning bidder on the property in March, the WBJ first reported and Bisnow confirmed.
The price MRP has reportedly agreed to pay is less than a fifth of Gallery Place's 2025 assessed value of $225.7M. Plummeting property values, especially for older office buildings in downtown D.C., are expected to increasingly strain the city’s budget over the next few years.
The pending sale of one of the most prominent buildings in Chinatown comes at a pivotal moment for the neighborhood, which just months ago nearly lost its anchor attractions, the Washington Wizards and Capitals.
Along with a commitment to stay downtown until 2050, team owner Monumental Sports & Entertainment secured an agreement for $515M of city funding to renovate the arena and the surrounding area.
The deal factors in an option to expand the arena’s footprint by 200K SF into the Gallery Place property for programming, potentially as a practice facility for the Washington Wizards.
Monumental Sports President of Venues Jordan Silberman told Bisnow in an interview this spring that the MRP joint venture has “been great partners to date.”
“They've essentially said, ‘You can have whatever you need to have. We're here for the success of downtown D.C.,’” Silberman said. “[MRP Realty Managing Principal] Bob Murphy and his team are great, and they totally understand it and are committed to the neighborhood and downtown D.C. in its full redevelopment.”
