D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser has unveiled a formal proposal to build a sprawling wellness resort at Poplar Point, the long-vacant federal tract along the Anacostia River across from Nationals Park. The project, led by European wellness company Therme, would bring thermal pools, saunas, cold plunges, swim-up bars and family-friendly zones to a site that has sat largely undeveloped for decades, with the resort potentially spanning up to 600,000 square feet.
The plan, unveiled on September 29, calls for Therme to receive a 20-year lease at just $1 annually, according to Axios. Washington DC Economic Partnership reports the legislative package now before the D.C. Council actually proposes a 60-year ground lease on 15 acres, with an option for a 20-year extension, according to Washington DC Economic Partnership. The overall project represents a $500 million private investment, per the same account.
Therme first floated the idea for a D.C. wellness resort in 2023, and the company already operates outposts in Germany, Romania, Toronto and Dallas. The project website estimates the development would create 5,000 construction jobs, more than 700 permanent jobs, and contribute $1.5 billion in tax revenue over 25 years, per Axios's reporting on the project materials.
Clearing a Federal Roadblock
For the project to move forward at all, the U.S. Park Police has to go somewhere else. The agency's headquarters and aviation facilities currently occupy part of the 110-acre Poplar Point site, and relocating them has long been considered a required prerequisite for shifting the land to D.C. control. The Bowser administration reached a tentative agreement in September to move those Park Police operations to Joint Base Anacostia-Bolling, clearing a major obstacle, according to the Executive Office of the Mayor, as cited by Washington DC Economic Partnership.
That hurdle has been two decades in the making. Congress mandated the transfer of the 110-acre Poplar Point site from the National Park Service to the District back in 2006 under the Federal and District of Columbia Government Real Property Act, requiring the city to preserve at least 70 acres for public parkland, per the National Capital Planning Commission. Planning documents reviewed by the commission in July 2025 position the 15-acre resort anchor near the Anacostia Metrorail station, alongside seven acres of restored wetlands and civic space, with Anacostia Drive rerouted away from the riverfront to maximize public access.
Soil contamination has also complicated the site for years. Poplar Point was artificially created between 1882 and 1927 by filling tidal marshes with mud dredged from the Anacostia River, and decades of use as plant nurseries, greenhouses and naval facilities left heavy contamination behind, according to the U.S. National Park Service. Environmental investigations into the site have been underway since the 1990s.
A Long Road From First Pitch to Legislation
Bowser first formally announced the selection of Therme's proposal in March 2025 at the District's annual March Madness economic development conference, following an initial exploration agreement the two sides signed back in May 2023, per the D.C. Office of the Deputy Mayor for Planning and Economic Development. City officials pitched the project then as a major economic driver for Ward 8. The Bowser administration's current legislative package still needs D.C. Council approval before any ground can break.
Not everyone in D.C. government is on board. According to Axios, some D.C. lawmakers may oppose handing riverfront land to Therme for a nominal $1 lease. Council member Janeese Lewis George will have a say on the project starting in January. Her campaign chairperson, Tommy Wells, called the project a mistake and said it is unneeded, arguing that valuable riverfront land should instead be used for housing.
Toronto's Cautionary Tale
Therme's track record elsewhere offers a preview of the friction such deals can generate. The company's mega-spa project at Toronto's Ontario Place drew significant political backlash, and a December 2024 Ontario Auditor General report criticized provincial authorities for an uncompetitive bidding process and hundreds of millions in public infrastructure subsidies tied to a 95-year lease, according to CTV News. Critics in Canada challenged the public subsidies provided for the private spa operation, a dynamic some D.C. officials may be watching closely as the local legislation advances.
Poplar Point itself carries weight beyond real estate deals. In 1932, the site and the surrounding Anacostia flats served as the primary encampment ground for the Bonus Army, where more than 40,000 World War I veterans and their families protested before being forcibly evicted by federal troops, according to Ghosts of DC.
Ward 8 Remains Divided
East of the river, reaction to the proposal is mixed. Ward 8 community leaders and residents remain split, with some advocates excited about the economic development potential and others concerned that prime waterfront land should instead prioritize affordable housing, according to The Washington Informer. D.C. Council members and community activists have questioned whether a luxury wellness complex aligns with the immediate needs of neighborhoods east of the river, the outlet reports.
With the Park Police relocation agreement now in place and the legislative package before the Council, Poplar Point's future may finally be coming into focus after decades of delay. Whether that future includes a $500 million European spa resort, however, still depends on a vote that hasn't happened yet.
