D.C. Mayor-elect Janeese Lewis George is keeping her options open for what could anchor Poplar Point, the District’s last major waterfront development opportunity.
Lewis George won the mayoral race Tuesday night and is set to take the reins from Mayor Muriel Bowser, who will step down from her nearly 12-year run in January. Bowser’s administration has been pushing a proposal to anchor Poplar Point with a $550M thermal bathing retreat from Therme Group.
On Wednesday, Lewis George said she doesn’t want to preclude other development opportunities that could better meet the needs of D.C. residents.
“I don't want to foreclose proposals by declaring that Therme is what's going to be there,” she said at a press conference. “Therme is welcome to continue to try to be one of the anchors and partners there, but I don't want to move forward in foreclosing those opportunities.”
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Poplar Point, a 110-acre parkland on the eastern bank of the Anacostia River, has long been envisioned as a future mixed-use waterfront neighborhood like Navy Yard or The Wharf. Over the past few years, the Bowser administration has accelerated efforts to kick-start the redevelopment project. And in 2025, it selected Therme as the anchor.
Before Bowser's term ends, her administration has sought to finalize two key pieces of legislation that would move Poplar Point and Therme’s proposed spa forward. But Lewis George told The Washington Sun last month that she has concerns about the project and that the site should be used to build more affordable homes.
The mayor-elect on Wednesday said the city “needs to put the people of the District of Columbia first” in all the deals it makes.
“We want people to say, ‘Hey, we want to be on Poplar Point. We're willing to build X, Y and Z. We're willing to show up for the residents and give these many amenities,’” Lewis George said.
She committed in her mayoral campaign to building 72,000 new homes, speeding up development of affordable homes and modernizing rent stabilization. She reiterated her pledge to focus on affordability and said she hopes to “show real impact” in her first year in office.
“I feel confident that we can deliver on universal access to childcare, that we can rein in our utility companies and deliver more affordability as it relates to utilities for our city and, of course, that we can make it easier for people to build homes in the city, to build more homes so we can lower the cost,” she said.
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