A campaign by Old City Swim School · Old City CrossFit · Old City Camps
A Home of
Our Own
For 13 years, Old City has taught Northeast DC to swim, lift, and grow — from rented pools and borrowed spaces. Now we’re ready to build a permanent home: two pools, a full gym, and a camp headquarters, under one roof, inside the District.
Concept designed. Site wanted.
Concept renderings throughout are illustrative — not final architectural designs.
900+
swimmers, campers, and athletes every week
427
summer campers in 2026 — up 86% in one year
13
years operating in NE DC
#1
drowning is the leading cause of death for U.S. children ages 1–4 (CDC)
1
premium swim program inside DC — ours
The Problem
We’ve outgrown every space we rent.
Today, Old City operates from leased and rented spaces on and around the Gallaudet University campus. We share our pool time, lose weeks each year to campus closures, and run camp, swim, and fitness from separate buildings. Hundreds of DC families wait for spots we don’t have room to create.
Demand is not the constraint. The building is.
The Vision
One roof. Every program.
Generations of families.
A purpose-built aquatic and fitness center of roughly 45,000 square feet in Northeast DC — near the neighborhoods our families already live in, including on or near the RFK campus. The concept scales to the site: the right half-acre works as well as a full acre.
The Front Door
Centered entry with the pool straight ahead — gym on the left, kids' camp on the right.
The Main Pool
25m × 25yd — swim team, Stroke School, Masters, and hosted meets, with a glass spectator gallery above the deck.
The Learn-to-Swim Pool
Six warm-water lanes at teaching depth — Pool Safe lessons, parent & tot, infant swim, and special-needs programs.
The Gym
A full fitness club on two levels — and the new home of Old City CrossFit, plus personal training.
Kids' Camp HQ
Summer camp, after-school care, school-closure camps, birthday parties, and parents' night out.
In the Neighborhood
Designed for an urban DC lot — skylit pool halls, a fenced play yard, and a front plaza built for family drop-off.
Why It Matters for DC
This is bigger than a building.
Every Kid Swims
Drowning is the leading cause of death for young children in the U.S. A dedicated teaching pool means thousands more DC kids learn to be safe in the water — for life.
Families Stay in DC
Every other premium swim school in the region is in the suburbs. A home of our own keeps DC families — and their weekends — inside the District.
A Community Anchor
1,000+ family visits a week, seven days a week, morning to night. That's foot traffic for neighborhood businesses and life on the street, year-round.
Jobs & Opportunity
Coaches, lifeguards, trainers, counselors, front desk — dozens of good jobs, many of them first jobs for DC's young people.
Giving Back
A private facility with a public impact.
Through our partnership with Go Play DC, Old City provides swim-lesson and camp scholarships year-round, and we donate to local school fundraising auctions across the city. But today, every scholarship is taught in water we rent by the hour.
In a building of our own, an empty lane costs almost nothing to give away. That’s what lets the mission grow: an expanded Go Play DC pipeline, partnerships with DC schools and Parks & Recreation, and free community water-safety clinics — on a calendar we control.
79% of children from low-income families have little or no swimming ability.* A home of our own lets us change that number in DC.
*USA Swimming Foundation national research study.
5%
Today
of our current capacity is dedicated to scholarship seats
15–20%
The Goal
of capacity in our own building — three to four times today’s program
Add Your Name
Sign the public statement of support.
Your name tells landowners, developers, and city leaders that Northeast DC wants this built. Add an optional statement about what it would mean to your family — with your permission, we’ll share it publicly as part of the campaign.
Know Someone?
Help us find the ground to build on.
We’re looking for half an acre to an acre in or near Northeast DC — including on or near the RFK campus — for ground-up, purpose-built construction. The right introduction could change everything.
Land & Sites
Own or know of 0.5–1 acre in NE DC? Vacant, underused, or redevelopment-ready — we want to see it.
Developers
Building mixed-use in NE DC? We're an anchor tenant that delivers 1,000+ family visits a week.
City & Community
ANC commissioners, council staff, civic associations — we'd love to present the concept to your community.
Press & Partners
Writers, schools, swim-safety organizations, youth sports leagues — let's talk.