Wyndham Worldwide unveiled a new 250-unit timeshare property at National Harbor Tuesday, making it the second in the region for the hotel company following the 1999 opening of its property in Alexandria.

From the day we opened up, our Alexandria property has been the most popular, the most sought-after resort within our system, said Wyndham CEO Franz Hanning. We knew then that the 82 units in Old Town would not be enough to satisfy the demands in this area so we immediately began looking for a place to open another signature resort.

According to Hanning, the Alexandria property has an average yearly economic impact of $25 million on the local economy. The new resort is expected to bring an additional $48.6 million per year to the region and create hundreds of new jobs.

Wyndham used the occasion to announce its partnership with The Fishing School, a nonprofit after-school education and enrichment program serving one of the most underprivileged areas of Washington.

Hanning presented a check for $25,000 to The Fishing School founder Tom Lewis, whose life was profiled in the award-winning documentary Redemption Stone that was featured in the 2009 Alexandria Film Festival.

We are fishing in the rivers of the mind, said Lewis in gratefully accepting the check. Lives are being changed and will continue to change through partnerships like this.

Wyndham will host standout students recipients of the newly created Tom Lewis Achievement Award and their families at the resort once per quarter. Jalyn Shubert, the first winner of the award, was present at Tuesdays event, which was hosted by ABC news anchor and Alexandria resident Alison Starling.