Dalian Development is under contract to buy the federal Regional Office Building at 301 Seventh Street SW in Southwest Washington, D.C., putting one of the city’s biggest redevelopment opportunities in the hands of a local player. The block-long complex has been pitched by the General Services Administration as a prime candidate for a major conversion. If the sale closes, Dalian would control a transit-rich block wedged between the National Mall and the District Wharf.
The Site and the Deal
The building at 301 Seventh St. SW sits on a 3.44-acre parcel and is listed at roughly 940,096 square feet; investment materials note the property has been vacant since March 2025, according to JLL. The GSA prospectus highlights the property’s D-8 zoning and its proximity to L'Enfant Plaza and the District Wharf, putting it squarely in the running for a residential or mixed-use overhaul. The asset is listed as "under contract" in the accelerated-disposition inventory maintained by GSA.
The Buyer
Dalian Development describes itself as the multifamily development arm of the Fateh Family Office and has completed projects in Philadelphia and San Antonio, according to Dalian Development. The family office also houses CloudHQ, a data-center company that signals a broader interest in infrastructure-scale assets, per CloudHQ. Dalian says its strategy is to own and hold properties, a long-view approach that will shape whether the 7th Street building becomes apartments, offices or some hybrid mix.
Why It Matters for Southwest
The parcel is one of the last large, centrally located redevelopment sites left in Southwest, and its D-8 zoning could allow residential conversion without a bruising rezoning process, the JLL materials note. Nearby projects, including the recent Cotton Annex conversion that delivered hundreds of new units, show there is real market appetite for turning former federal buildings into housing, according to JLL. For neighbors and planners, this deal doubles as a case study in how quickly federal property disposals can line up with the city’s growth and housing goals.
What’s Next
How fast 301 Seventh St. SW moves from dormant federal office to something livelier will depend on city review, financing and whatever remediation or retrofit work the structure needs. The under-contract buyer and Dalian’s multifamily focus, along with its ties to a data-center arm, were first reported by Washington Business Journal. The real tells will come with planning filings, permit applications or an official statement from GSA or Dalian that spells out the vision for this unusually big slice of Southwest.
