Therme Group, the European wellness company that operates spa, sauna and indoor water park complexes, is pushing forward with plans for an $850 million resort near downtown Dallas
The firm seeks to modify zoning at its 24-acre site near 1500 S. Riverfront Blvd. and obtain a specific use permit for a new pedestrian bridge as part of the project. Therme initially intended to appear before Dallas’ planning commission Thursday but moved its request to the Aug. 20 meeting, John Alschuler, executive chairman of the Therme U.S. group, told The Dallas Morning News
“We’re having very productive discussions with [City Manager Kimberly Bizor Tolbert]. We’ve been working hard and in close collaboration with city staff, and we believe things will come together in a very productive and exciting way in the coming months,” he said
Article continues below this ad
Theplans for the development were first announced in March 2025, and they remain largely unchanged, Alschuler said
The wellness facility will anchor the site in the Cedars neighborhood, just south of downtown Dallas. The development is expected to include a 450,000-square-foot, indoor climate-controlled facility and roughly five acres of outdoor pools and other attractions
Therme Dallas would offer visitors thermal baths, 20 kinds of saunas, wet rooms, mineral pools, water slides and immersive works from local and international artists, as well as multiple restaurants. The Georgetown Co., which owns a 25% equity stake in Therme U.S., plans to build a hotel on the site that will be jointly owned by the two
Gensler will serve as the project’s architect. Michael Van Valkenburgh Associates, the firm that designed the landscape for the George W. Bush Presidential Center, is the project’s landscape architect. More than 1,000 palm trees and native Texas plants will be used for the facility.Â
Developer Jack Matthews and Matthews Southwest will build infrastructure for the project. Matthews sold the site to Therme for the facility, and he owns land around the site that could be used for future residential or office development
Article continues below this ad
The resort is expected to create more than 1,000 permanent jobs and potentially generate roughly $2 billion in tax revenues over 30 years. Therme estimates the new Dallas facility will see nearly 2 million visitors a year, which could further drive tourism. The development is expected to economically benefit the Cedars and strengthen its connection to downtown Dallas, Alschuler said
Therme plans to seek economic incentives from the city that includes funding from the area’s tax increment financing district. If approved, the resort could open in 2031. Alschuler hopes to bring the project before the Dallas City Council this fall. Groundbreaking could come a year after council’s vote
“We’re really hopeful that Dallas will be our first site in the U.S., and that Dallas can be a leader in defining how cities grow in the 21st century,” Alschuler said
Therme operates two wellness resorts in Romania and Germany with plans for additional facilities in Europe, Dubai, Canada and the United States. Questions about the firm’s practices emerged in April 2025 after The New York Times reported that Thermemisled government officials and exaggerated its experience to secure a development deal in Toronto. Therme disputed the reporting in multiple public statements
Article continues below this ad
Therme recently broke ground on its $1 billion wellness resort in Singapore. The 720,000-square-foot facility is scheduled to open in 2030, the firm said
