Wizards and Capitals Owner Inks 75K-SF Retail Lease in D.C.’s Chinatown
The lease was inked alongside a 120K-SF office lease at the complex
By Nick Trombola January 10, 2025 7:43 pm
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Monumental Sports & Entertainment’s takeover of Washington, D.C.’s Chinatown in the wake of its Capital One Arena deal has hit a new level, with a monumental retail lease at the mixed-use Gallery Place adjacent to the arena.
Monumental, which owns the Washington Wizards and Capitals professional sports teams, has leased about 75,000 square feet of retail space at the complex, which once housed a Bed, Bath & Beyond and a Lucky Strike bowling alley, from a joint venture between MRP Realty and Global Fund Investments, according to the Business Journals. Monumental plans to convert the space for its office needs rather than use it as retail.
The lease of the retail space reportedly occurred the same day in mid-December as Monumental’s 120,000-square-foot office lease at Gallery Place. With nearly 200,000 square feet of combined space between the two leases, Monumental is set to assume control of nearly half of the rentable space available at the complex. Both the Bed, Bath & Beyond store and Lucky Strike bowling alley closed in 2020.
Representatives for Monumental and MRP did not immediately respond to requests for comment. A representative of Global Fund Investments declined to comment.
Monumental’s decision to lease so much space at Gallery Place is a welcome change for the property. Its former owner, an affiliate of Oxford Properties, defaulted on a $179 million loan from Pacific Life Insurance in 2023, ultimately sending the property into receivership. It sold to MRP in May for just $39 million, a fraction of its 2024 assessed value of $225.7 million.
Meanwhile, the owner of the Wizards and Capitals continues to reap rewards from its decision in early 2024 to keep the teams inside the District. The D.C. Council in December approved the city’s $88 million purchase of Capital One Arena from Monumental, as part of its $515 million commitment to renovate the arena and the surrounding area.
Nick Trombola can be reached at ntrombola@commercialobserver.com.
