Savu, which operates popular stand-alone saunas in three scenic northern Vermont locales, is opening an 8,000-square-foot bathhouse on Burlington’s Flynn Avenue.
Work is expected to begin on the facility next month, co-owners Nicole Sweeney and Dave Nelson said in a video announcing the brick-and-mortar location. They’ll offer both day passes and a membership model when the site opens this fall.
“It’s been such a journey, and to land a permanent home for Savu here in Burlington just feels like such a milestone,” Sweeney said. She added that customer loyalty and the success of the three other locations has “made this possible.”
The couple opened their first sauna in 2021 and operate sites along the shores of Lake Champlain at the Burlington Surf Club as well as in Jeffersonville and Waitsfield. Savu also sells saunas that it designs.
Floor plans filed with the city for the location at 208 Flynn Avenue show multiple saunas, a steam room, warm pools and cold plunge, along with locker rooms and lounge areas for rest and relaxation. The couple have scheduled an open house at the South End space, which is across the street from City Market, for Thursday, February 26, from 4 to 8 p.m.
“This is not a passing trend or speculative idea,” the couple said in an email announcing the new location. “It’s a real, tangible community asset, built on a foundation of four years operating here in Vermont.”
The announcement comes about 18 months after different developers pulled plans to build a 30,000-square-foot bathhouse not too far away on Pine Street. Silt Botanica Bathhouse was to be built on a contaminated lot known as a brownfield. But dealing with the pollution proved too costly a proposition before the plans were scuttled in September 2024.
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