Rumsey: Closure in Late Fall/Early Winter – New Facility To Feature Sauna

Rumsey: Closure in Late Fall/Early Winter – New Facility To Feature Sauna

by Larry Janezich

Posted Friday, July 24, 2026

Wednesday night, DC’s Department of Parks and Recreation and the Department of General Services hosted a community meeting in the North Hall of Eastern Market to present the final design for the construction of the new Rumsey Aquatic Center.  Budgeted at $44,500,000, Rumsey is the largest DPR project in Ward 6. 

This review of the final design was the last opportunity for the community to request changes though DPR’s Chris Dyer Chief of External Affairs emphasized only minor tweaks can be made at this stage.  Some of the concerns raised during the Q&A included insuring enough space and pool depth for aerobic classes, providing for proactive facility maintenance and adequate staff.  Contact Dyer at Christopher.Dyer@dc.gov for additional questions and information. 

The timeline anticipates closing the existing facility in late fall or early winter. Dyer  pledged DPR would give the community ample notice of the closing along with notice of a TBD community meeting/construction kick off. 

One surprise from Wednesday night’s meeting was the announcement of the inclusion of a proposed sauna – the only one in a DC aquatic facility – apparently in response to a petition from members of the community. 

Here are some of the images from Wednesday night’s power point presentation.  For the entire presentation, go here:  https://dgs.dc.gov/page/rumsey-aquatic-center

Note solar panels on roof. 

The small type on the left listing proposed new pool programming:

Learn 2 Swim: Parent/Child – Learn 2 Swim: Child, Preschool – Hydro Spin – Senior Aerobics: Deep, Shallow – Junior Wave or Water Wizards – Youth Polo – Hydro-Kick – Aqua Pole

Note the unisex sauna.

The programming team was not present at the meeting (perhaps to insure the Q&A would be confined to its allotted 60 minutes).

Illustrations of proposed design concepts from other recreational facilities. 

This architectural sketch illustrates the location of weekend vendor tents represented by pink squares on the North Carolina Avenue and C Street plazas.  The Eastern Market Community Advisory Committee successfully lobbied designers to clear the alley to preserve access to the market.  A sidewalk on the Rumsey side will run the length of the alley.