A European developer is expected to make a big splash in Texas with plans to spend $800 million to build a wellness resort and hotel just south of downtown Dallas near the convention center that is getting a multibillion-dollar overhaul.
The proposed wellness resort with thermal baths, dozens of saunas, mineral pools and waterslides along the Trinity River is expected to be the first U.S. location for Austria-based Therme Group, which develops and operates resorts in Europe and is expanding to the United States. Therme's U.S. arm plans to develop 10 resort projects, each encompassing about 500,000 square feet, across the country in the coming years, the company recently said.
Therme Group US has teamed with The Georgetown Co., a New York City-based real estate development firm, as its development partner for the proposed U.S. recreational venues. Georgetown Co. has a 25% financial stake in Therme Group US as part of the agreement.
"Continuing our momentum in the U.S., we’re excited to announce that our first anticipated location will be in Dallas — one of the fastest-growing cities and the ideal place to debut our vision for urban wellbeing," Therme Group US said in a LinkedIn post.
The proposed climate-controlled Dallas resort is expected to be developed in "the heart of the city's revitalization" in the Cedars neighborhood, south of the Dallas Convention Center and near a proposed high-speed rail station, according to the post.
Development firm Matthews Southwest has a deal to sell nearly 26 acres about 700 yards south of the proposed high-speed rail station and just north of the Longhorn Ballroom between Corinth and Cadiz streets to Therme Group US, according to Jack Matthews, CEO of Matthews Southwest.
Matthews told CoStar News the opportunity to sell the land "showed up on his door." The deal has not closed. The development tract has yet to get an address, and the site is subject to planning and zoning approvals from the city, Matthews added. Therme Group US has yet to apply for incentives.
Therme Group US told the Dallas Morning News it planned to build a hotel adjacent to the proposed resort. The company did not immediately respond to interview requests from CoStar News.
The city of Dallas began work last year on a planned $3.7 billion renovation of the Dallas Convention Center in a move that backers hope will make downtown Dallas a bigger player in the increasingly competitive U.S. convention business.
Other US projects
The only other U.S. project that Therme Group has announced was for the Washington, D.C., area. Therme Group U.S. unveiled plans last week for a 15-acre tract along the east side of the Anacostia River. The roughly 500,000-square-foot project is expected to cost $500 million and take about three years to complete.
The district expects the resort to serve as an economic catalyst along the Anacostia waterfront. That project is also subject to local approvals.
The other U.S. cities Therme Group is considering for potential resorts were not disclosed. The company spent a year talking with elected officials and city leaders before deciding to move forward with the Dallas project, according to the statement.
The U.S. resorts are expected to be modeled after Therme Group's facilities in Munich, Germany, and Bucharest, Romania. Therme Dallas is expected to have expansive thermal pools, swim-up bars, saunas, waterslides and lush greenery, the company said on its website. The resort is also expected to have restaurants.
The company expects the Dallas project will have "a lasting economic impact," with the wellness resort generating hundreds of jobs and creating a local tax revenue of over $1.1 billion during the first 30 years in operation, according to Therme Group US.