A more than $300-million wellness center with a water park, saunas, and communal baths could open in NYC after 2025 — see what it could look like

The Therme center in Bucharest, Romania.Therme Group

• Therme is opening an eponymous "wellness center" in New York City that'll start at $40 per person.
• The center will have saunas, a water park, meditation spaces, a botanical garden, communal baths, and more.

Wellness and fitness tourism has been on the rise since before the anxiety-inducing, stress-snacking COVID-19 pandemic blistered the travel industry and our mental and physical health.

The Therme center in Bucharest, Romania.      Therme Group

Source: BBC

But in a few years, New Yorkers won't have to travel out of the city for a blissful retreat from the hoards of people and screaming sirens.

The Therme center in Bucharest, Romania.      Therme Group

New York City isn't known as a destination for peace and tranquil getaways …

The Therme center in Bucharest, Romania.      Therme Group

… but Therme Group, an international wellbeing resort company, is looking to change this mentality by opening what Travel and Leisure has called a "wellness theme park" right in the city.

The Therme center in Bucharest, Romania.      Therme Group

Source: Travel and Leisure

"One simple way to describe the value of a Therme is it's the antidote to the meta universe that Mark Zuckerberg just announced," John Alschuler, the incoming Therme North America executive chairman, told Insider in an interview. "This is about an actual experience that can't be and shouldn't be digitized."

The Therme center in Bucharest, Romania.      Therme Group

Opening a quiet refuge in one of the world's most bustling cities isn't an easy endeavor.

The Therme center in Bucharest, Romania.      Therme Group

To do so, Therme has tapped Robert Hammond, the co-founder of another NYC haven, the High Line park, to join the team …

The Therme center in Bucharest, Romania.      Therme Group

… with the hopes that Hammond can bring the High Line's design and emphasis of nature and community to Therme New York.

The Therme center in Bucharest, Romania.      Therme Group

"All those things together, to me, is what makes the High Line and what will make Therme," Hammond told Insider in an interview.

The Therme center in Bucharest, Romania.      Therme Group

In April 2022, Hammond will leave his post as the executive director at the High Line to serve as Therme North America's president and chief strategy officer.

The Therme center in Bucharest, Romania.      Therme Group

The company — which can best be summarized by its "wellbeing for all" motto — currently has several locations around the world, specifically In Romania and Germany.

The Therme center in Bucharest, Romania.      Therme Group

Its Bucharest, Romania location was the country's "most popular attraction from 2016 to 2018, welcoming over one million guests in the first year of operation," according to the company's website.

The Therme center in Bucharest, Romania.      Therme Group

Source: Therme

Besides the upcoming New York outpost, Therme has already announced plans for centers in Canada and the UK.

The Therme center in Bucharest, Romania.      Therme Group

The latter will open in 2023, while the New York location will likely open within the next four to five years.

The Therme center in Bucharest, Romania.      Therme Group

Source: Therme

This stateside Therme is still being designed, but it could take after the other centers, which combine live plants and large glass walls to create a bright, relaxing, nature-centered space.

The Therme center in Bucharest, Romania.      Therme Group

Therme's self-proclaimed "well-being center" in New York will be a combination of a family-friendly water park, meditation space, botanical garden, gym, spa, communal thermal bathhouse, and art gallery.

The Therme center in Bucharest, Romania.      Therme Group

Together, all of these amenities will create a "wellbeing facility" that could be embraced by New Yorkers, Alschuler says.

The Therme center in Bucharest, Romania.      Therme Group

"There's a very strong demand from whole segments of America for this kind of experience, just fragmented, " Alschuler said. "So when you put it together, the demand becomes exponentially stronger."

The Therme center in Bucharest, Romania.      Therme Group

The tradition of communal bathing has existed for centuries, from ancient Roman baths to Japanese onsens.

The Therme center in Bucharest, Romania.      Therme Group

Communal bathing centers currently aren't that popular across the US. But Americans love water parks, which is close enough: "I don't think it's a dramatic discontinuity with what Americans currently do," Alschuler noted.

The Therme center in Bucharest, Romania.      Therme Group

Therme's goal is to "bring back the essence of these global bathing traditions," according to its website.

The Therme center in Bucharest, Romania.      Therme Group

Source: Therme Group

"There's no experience in the Therme that Americans haven't already adopted," Alschuler said. "What's different is we've combined it all together with abundant nature and a focus on wellbeing."

The Therme center in Bucharest, Romania.      Therme Group

Therme centers around the world all have similar amenities and services …

The Therme center in Bucharest, Romania.      Therme Group

… which include several types of saunas, lounges, pools, restaurants, and a water park, all of which attract a wide age range.

The planned Therme in Manchester, United Kingdom.      Therme Group

Source: Therme

"There's a theme park component of this … and Americans love theme parks," Alschuler said. "Americans flock in large numbers to Miami and the southwest to be outdoors in water, and that's what we will have in New Yorkers' backyards."

The Therme center in Bucharest, Romania.      Therme Group

The New York location specifically will reflect the "emotion, taste, and sensibility of the city," Alschuler said, noting that the High Line — a public park that melds nature with the city — is an example of this sentiment.

The Therme center in Bucharest, Romania.      Therme Group

And unlike other spas that primarily target adults with deeper pocketbooks, Therme wants to make its New York center widely accessible.

The Therme center in Bucharest, Romania.      Therme Group

Entry into Therme New York will start at about $40. This price then increases when specialized services like a massage are added on.

The Therme center in Bucharest, Romania.      Therme Group

"This is not an elite experience," Alschuler said. "This is not for the Lululemon culture. It's an inclusive experience that people of different ages, incomes, cultural, and racial experiences can all come and enjoy."

The planned Therme in Manchester, United Kingdom.      Therme Group

Unsurprisingly, all of the facility's amenities will take up a decent chunk of square footage, something New York City doesn't have much of anymore.

The Therme in Bucharest, Romania.      Therme Group

The team is still looking for an ideal location in the city, but "there is no five-acre site waiting to be developed in the middle of Manhattan," Hammond said.

The Therme in Bucharest, Romania.      Therme Group

Hammond believes the facility will likely end up in an old repurposed industrial building, while Alschuler says he could see Therme in a Manhattan skyscraper or on an abandoned pier.

The Therme in Bucharest, Romania.      Therme Group

The team is still figuring out the logistics and layout of the New York location, but one thing's for sure: the New York location will likely have to be more vertical than Therme's other centers.

The Therme in Bucharest, Romania.      Therme Group

"We're going to be a New York institution, so we will adopt … New York's building typology, which is vertical," Alschuler said.

The Therme in Bucharest, Romania.      Therme Group

As of now, Alschuler estimates the project will cost about $300 million to $350 million to construct.

The planned Therme in Ontario, Canada.      Therme Group

“What’s special about the Therme is that it takes combinations that are very familiar [to Americans] and combines them in a way that’s magical and new,” he said.

The planned Therme in Ontario, Canada.      Therme Group