A conversation with Ab Jordan and Wanda Lockridge about the Therme plan for Poplar Point
For decades, Poplar Point has been fenced off and left contaminated, closing off one of Ward 8’s most important natural spaces. Now, with plans underway for a new 70-acre public park, the community has a chance to restore wetlands, expand green space and reconnect to the Anacostia River. Therme DC, a proposed health and wellness destination, will help unlock this park while creating local jobs and supporting environmental restoration.
Hear from Wanda Lockridge, a long-time Ward 8 resident and Director of Community Engagement for Therme DC, about why this project matters, how it can transform access to nature, and what it means for the future of our community. And if you want a taste of what Therme is all about, join us October 18–19 for Bathe-ing DC, a two-day wellness festival featuring saunas, cold plunges and more — right here in Ward 8. Learn more and register here.
As a long-time resident of Ward 8, why do you think green space is so important for the community?
For me, green space means so much more than just having a park and some trees around the corner. It’s about creating safe, open places for our kids to run and play, and where families can gather and take a breath away from city life. It’s also good for your mental health to be around nature.
DC has one of the best park systems in the country. In fact, 98% of DC residents live within a 10-minute walk of a park. Yet the remaining 2% – many in Wards 7 and 8 – often have to walk up to half a mile just to reach the nearest playground or public green space. That might not sound far, but it's neither safe nor equitable in DC’s hot and humid weather. For too long, we’ve had to watch other parts of the city enjoy those spaces while our side of the river went without.
Poplar Point’s development is a huge opportunity to create a space that truly belongs to Ward 8 residents. The 70-acre public park that Therme’s investment will help unlock will support our residents mentally and physically. When done right, green space gives us room to move, relax, and build community.
From your perspective, what is the environmental opportunity at Poplar Point?
Poplar Point has been closed to the public for generations, first serving as a federal tree nursery and later as a Naval facility. The site was largely abandoned in the 1990s, and contamination dates back well before then. The opportunity we have in front of us is to repair and revive this land, and to do justice to the communities in Ward 8 by creating a brand-new neighborhood that will not only spur economic development for residents east of the river but will also include 70 acres of green space, giving residents a place to appreciate and connect with nature.
Poplar Point is already green and home to wildlife, but it has been inaccessible, fenced off, and burdened by contamination for decades. Redevelopment is about restoring this land, making it healthier, and finally opening it up so the community can enjoy it.
I emphasize “we” because it is critical that the Ward 8 community is organized and vocal in how we want the park to best serve us. This is our chance to design a world-class park where our kids, families, and seniors can be safe and well in the great outdoors.
How does Therme DC fit into the broader vision for Poplar Point?
The Therme experience is centered around nature, and expanded access to green and blue spaces, which we plan to integrate seamlessly into the surrounding public park. Our vision for a community-oriented wellness space is harmonious with the overall goals for Poplar Point, and will help expand access to green spaces and nature, connect residents back to the Anacostia River and help repair this contaminated ecosystem.
Therme DC will also be a center for our community, and we’ll promote community access and connection as an affordable destination for health and wellness. We’re already in numerous discussions around community partnerships, including local hiring and training initiatives, opportunities for Ward 8 small businesses, support for the local arts, discounted pricing, and more. Therme DC will be a reflection of the culture and community of Ward 8 and the District, and our goal is for it to be affordable and accessible, both year-round and through a variety of discounted access programs.
Providing both health and wellness, and offering affordably and at scale, will make Therme DC a health and wellness asset for the community. The Therme experience is based on research showing that access to water and nature, physical activity, thermal bathing and associated therapies have a positive preventative and therapeutic impact on a myriad of physical and mental conditions. During visits to Therme’s facilities with Ward 8 residents and community leaders, including Friends of Oxon Run’s own Ab Jordan, it was clear just how immersive and restorative the Therme experience can be.
Tell me how a Therme at Poplar Point helps to facilitate the creation of a new park?
That’s a great question. Thanks to our Warrior on the Hill, Eleanor Holmes Norton, there is a federal law that allows the District government to acquire Poplar Point from the National Park Service. But before the District can do so, it must first relocate the Park Police Headquarters. That relocation comes with a substantial price tag, one that the revenue from high-quality economic development on the site can help cover. By locating a transformative public destination like Therme DC alongside job-creating, tax-generating commercial space, the District can meet the statutory requirements for transfer by funding the practical steps needed to make it happen. In short, this development provides the vision, many of the financial resources, and momentum to finally bring Poplar Point into local hands and create a world-class public park.
Residents here have seen big visions come and go. How will Therme DC make sure this one delivers?
I’ve witnessed promises made and broken in this community for decades, but I joined Therme because it was clear from the start to me that this is different. Therme DC has been showing up, listening, and meeting residents where they are. To date, more than 1,500 Washingtonians have voiced their support for bringing Therme DC to Poplar Point, and we’ve earned letters of support from key local organizations, including Friends of Oxon Run, the Anacostia BID, Building Bridges Across the River, and Capital Nature.
From day one, our priority has been genuine, sustained engagement, and the response has been overwhelmingly positive. People here see this as a long-overdue investment in jobs, economic opportunity, and accessible green space. Ward 8 deserves, just like any other part of the District, a space that is clean, safe, and sustainable.
What technologies is Therme DC leveraging to meet its environmental goals? How is Therme taking technologies that it has used in other facilities and leveraging them in DC?
Therme DC is bringing in the same innovative technologies used in our European facilities to minimize its environmental impact.
Consistent with our facilities in Europe, we plan to incorporate cutting-edge sustainability measures to optimize energy and water use, minimize waste, and strengthen the site’s long-term ecological resilience. Our ozone system, which we already use in Bucharest and other locations, keeps water clean and safe without the harsh chemicals you get with traditional chlorine pools. It also helps the air feel fresher and is gentler on skin and eyes. Water is treated and recirculated every four hours to make sure it stays top quality. This also produces major carbon savings. A standard chlorine-treated pool utilizes 4 to 8 kg of CO2 per 1000 cubic meters of water, compared to just 3 to 6 kg for ozone-treated pools.
This project is built on the principle that connection with nature and environmental stewardship go hand-in-hand.
Do you have any more specific details about how you expect Therme’s complex will impact the environment in Poplar Point?
Therme DC will unlock opportunities at Poplar Point to remediate a significant stretch of wetland environment while creating a new, 70-acre public park. These new public amenities are much-needed in Ward 8, where a chronic lack of accessible green space compounds issues caused by urban heat, which are already worsening due to climate change.
While the full development of the site will lead to more built area, it will also transform a majority of Poplar Point into usable, non-contaminated and protected green space, including preserved wetlands and more. This means 70 acres of green space that can be used by residents to beat the heat, connect with nature and enjoy a native ecosystem. Combined with improvements to the Anacostia riverfront to ameliorate flooding concerns, the restoration of wetland spaces will also help to combat rising water levels driven by climate change and extreme weather.
The Therme complex itself will be designed to be highly sustainable, as mentioned above, and the remaining land will consist of mixed-use development all within close proximity to the Anacostia Metro station and numerous bus routes. This high level of transit access, as well as bicycle connections to the Anacostia River Trail and Frederick Douglass Bridge, will accommodate visitors to Therme and the neighborhood’s new residents sustainably and efficiently.
The transition of Poplar Point from fallow land to a vibrant, open public space complete with transit-oriented development and a state-of-the-art Therme facility will improve the social and environmental health of the surrounding community.
All of this sounds very exciting. How can DC residents get more involved in the project?
Great question! For more details on the project, you can visit Therme.us/dc, where you can submit comments/meeting requests, sign up for our newsletter, check upcoming events, and more. We always appreciate hearing directly from the community.
