Pollin’s arena revitalized nation’s capital

By investing $200 million in building a sports arena at Gallery Place, Washington Wizards owner Abe Pollin revitalized a once-blighted and crime-infested section of the nation’s capital.

Today, the area is a vibrant mecca for tourists and residents, who flock to retail stores, restaurants and entertainment venues around the Verizon Center, the centerpiece of Mr. Pollin’s legacy.

D.C. Council member Marion Barry, who was D.C. mayor when the city broke ground on the arena in 1995, called Mr. Pollin a tough businessman whose commitment to revitalize Chinatown and the Seventh Street corridor in Northwest Washington inspired his trust.

Mr. Barry on Tuesday recalled his initial skepticism when Mr. Pollin told him his proposed location for the planned sports arena.

While visiting Mr. Pollin’s home for a Jewish Seder, Mr. Barry said he expressed doubt about the project, but was put at ease by Mr. Pollin’s character and confidence.

“I told him ‘I don’t know what’s going to happen.’ He said ‘Trust me, you’re going to love it.’ That’s how he talked,” Mr. Barry said.

D.C. Council Chairman Pro Tempore Jack Evans, whose Ward 2 is home to the Verizon Center, described the area as “deserted and dangerous” in the mid-1990s before the arena was built.

Part of the deal to bring the Wizards and the Washington Capitals hockey team (which he subsequently sold) from suburban Landover, Md., to the city was that 50 Metropolitan Police officers would be stationed there because of fears of violence, Mr. Evans recalled. Mr. Pollin decided to bring the teams to the District and opted to pay to build the arena when the city couldn’t sell bonds to finance construction.

“That decision is the point where downtown Washington really began its renaissance,” Mr. Evans said.

The arena, originally called the MCI Center, prompted new building construction, with restaurants, theaters and museums opening nearby and revitalization stretching outward. The city and Metro spent $79 million to improve the infrastructure in the neighborhood. Investors followed, spending more than $5 billion and adding nearly 10 million square feet of office space.

In honor of Mr. Pollin’s 84th birthday last year and the 10th anniversary of Verizon Center, the city renamed F Street near the arena between 6th and 7th streets Northwest as Abe Pollin Way.

Mayor Adrian M. Fenty also proclaimed Dec. 3, 2007, as Abe Pollin Day.

On Tuesday, Mr. Fenty said the District has “lost one of our greatest treasures.”

“Abe Pollin almost single-handedly revitalized the Gallery Place/Chinatown neighborhood by turning down offers from suburban jurisdictions to finance and build the Verizon Center.”

Elliot Ferguson, president and CEO of Destination DC - the District’s official tourism organization — said the Verizon Center was the impetus for further development that would grow into a vibrant, tourist-friendly downtown.

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