A task force created to contemplate ways D.C. can reimagine its Gallery Place-Chinatown neighborhood is recommending an Asian grocery store, a continued emphasis on safety and the creation of a new arts and entertainment district.
The group, which includes city and business leaders, presented its ideas during a community meeting Saturday.
The recommendations come more than a year after D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser created the task force to consider ways for the neighborhood to evolve. It first focused on ways for the area to adapt if the Wizards and Capitals left for Virginia, but once the teams agreed to stay in D.C., the group discussed how to revitalize the neighborhood.
Nina Albert, co-chair of the task force and the city’s deputy mayor for planning and economic development, said some of the recommendations have been included in Bowser’s fiscal 2026 budget proposal. The group recommended efficiencies in the zoning process and continued investment in office to residential conversation, and expansion of the supermarket tax credit.
What’s envisioned for Chinatown-Gallery Place?
One set of ideas relates specifically to the evolution of the Chinatown neighborhood.
The group is recommending the city attract an Asian grocery store, and work to attract new Asian and Chinese businesses, Albert said. It’s encouraging the area to host events such as the Lunar New Year and Asian Night Market, “events that families from all over the region, whether you’re of Asian descent or other, can come and celebrate the culture,” Albert said.
The task force also recommended a redesign of Chinatown Park on I Street Northwest, so that it can become more of a showcase for Chinese-influenced events. Albert said the vision for that space would include murals and gathering spaces.
The group said the alley north of H Street can be renovated to honor Chinese culture, and Wah Luck House should be preserved for longtime residents.
‘Street life vibrancy’: Showcasing museums, theater and more
Separately, the task force recommended creating an arts and entertainment district that would extend beyond Gallery Place-Chinatown. It would feature 18 museums and entertainment venues, including Ford’s Theater, Warner Theater, the National Theater and the Planet Word Museum.
The area, Albert said, would include as discount ticket booth, similar to those in New York City that are popular for Broadway shows.
“It creates a buzz,” Albert said.
Some theaters have been interested in bringing shows outdoors, Albert said, with ideas such as Shakespeare in the Park.
“Having the theaters contribute to the street life vibrancy is also something that they all shared as an area of interest,” Albert said.
Ideas include ‘parklike setting’ to add green space
The task force highlighted a series of recommended projects based on priority. For one, it said it wants to make F Street between 7th and 9th streets curbless, meaning the sidewalk and road are on the same level. That makes it easier to create a plaza if there’s an event, and Albert said the city is aiming to have that done by the time Capital One Arena renovations finish next year.
Another component, 7th street south from Pennsylvania Avenue to F street, would remove parking lanes, expand sidewalks and establish more outdoor dining.
And for the area on 8th Street between G and I streets, the task force recommended street furniture, trees, umbrellas and “the beginning of a parklike setting for pedestrians, where right now there is very limited green space right in the heart of Chinatown,” Albert said.
All three of those projects require the council to keep funding for them in the approved fiscal 2026 budget, Albert said.
Broadly, Albert said crime has improved in the neighborhood, and the city has replaced almost all streetlights with LED lights, “because we heard from the neighborhood that there were certain pockets that were quite dark.”
Long-term project recommendations include a redesign of the alley by the Friendship Arch, a “parklike setting” that connects CityCenter and Chinatown Park and expanding green spaces.
This year’s budget proposal allocates $250,000 for the D.C. Chinatown Renewal Initiative, which is “really to plan and work with the local Chinese community and the Asian American community writ large, to figure out what investments in retail, what investments in streetscape and what investments in cultural events they really want the city to make,” Albert said.
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