Becoming A ‘Bustling Community Hub’: The Latest News In Chinatown/Gallery Place

1. Earlier this month, The Washington Post reported that Monumental Sports & Entertainment is asking the District to contribute $600M for a four-year renovation plan to upgrade the Capital One Arena, home to the Washington Capitals and Wizards and an anchor of the Chinatown neighborhood. This amount would cover the majority of the $800M renovation. 

2. In October, the Washington Business Journal reported that Oxford Properties was relinquishing ownership of Gallery Place. According to the WBJ, an affiliate of Oxford Properties said earlier this year that it didn't plan to stay current on the $185M loan on the Chinatown property due in part to “recent and impending vacancies.” Oxford plans to cooperate with plans to sell the loan to a new owner. 

3. In September, The Georgetown Voice wrote a profile of D.C.’s Chinatown and the efforts to restore it to “its former glory as a bustling community hub.” Some of these efforts involve cultural events, including festivals held by the Chinese Consolidated Benevolent Association of D.C. celebrating Chinese cultural holidays and the Lunar New Year parade. The Georgetown Voice reported that many Chinese residents in Chinatown live in the Wah Luck House, one of the last affordable housing communities in the area. 

4. The Dead Rabbit, a famed New York pub that has spent more than 10 years in the city's Financial District, plans to replace Chinatown’s Pi Pizzeria, which abruptly closed in September, Eater reported last month. “We are on a mission to decouple the American-Irish pub from its inaccurate stereotypes, and that can’t be done with one location in New York,” Dead Rabbit Managing Partner Jack McGarry told Eater. 

5. In April, Axios reported on three ways D.C. plans to rejuvenate the Chinatown-Gallery Place neighborhood, with a focus on creating a more walkable community and more office-to-residential conversions. One key project highlighted was the plan for Seventh Street NW, which includes expanded sidewalks to give more room for pedestrians, more outdoor dining and showcases of public art. The plans also include a concept to limit vehicle traffic with bus, bike and truck lanes and pickup and drop-off zones for cars.

6. Regal Gallery Place, a 14-screen theater that has operated in its 63K SF at Gallery Place for 18 years, has remained open throughout the year despite prior reports of its impending closure. The reports came after Regal's parent company, Cineworld, earlier this year put the location on a list of theaters it planned to close as part of its bankruptcy process and a judge approved the list.