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Project Background
Georgetown University has been working to build a new boathouse on the Potomac River for many years. The current design is supported by the National Park Service. Located near Key Bridge, the proposal would beautify and enhance access to the waterfront. According to the Environmental Assessment just released by the National Park Service, the design poses no significant environmental impacts to the area. The boathouse will allow the Georgetown University rowing teams to meet their programmatic needs.
- Georgetown University crew currently rows from Thompson Boat Center on the Potomac River. The facilities are limiting and shared by many users. The new boathouse will be located near the Key Bridge; it will house the University's rowing program and takes into account critical programmatic and training needs. The new boathouse will reduce overcrowding at Thompson and provide new summer rowing opportunities for District of Columbia Public School students.
- Georgetown University currently owns 1.09 waterfront acres in the C&O Canal National Historic Park, near the Palisades, and a 1 mile in length by 15 foot right-of-way along the current Capitol Crescent Trail to access its site. This site is approximately 1 mile upstream the Key Bridge.
- In the early 1990's, Georgetown University and the National Park Service began discussing a land exchange along the Potomac. National Park Service was interested in having Georgetown University locate its boathouse in the designated Potomac River boathouse zone, identified by National Park Service in its 1987 Non-Motorized Boating Study, rather than locating it on the property upstream.
- In 1998, Georgetown University and National Park Service executed a "Preliminary Agreement to Exchange Real Property" so that the boathouse would be located next to the current Washington Canoe Club building and National Park Service would acquire Georgetown University's right-of-way and property upstream. The agreement specifically allows all the uses proposed for the boathouse, including exercise and locker rooms and a rowing tank.
- The project has been approved by the following entities:
- District of Columbia Zoning Commission
- National Capital Planning Commission
- Georgetown Waterfront Commission
- Commission of Fine Arts and Old Georgetown Board
- Advisory Neighborhood Commission (ANC) 2E
- On April 25, 2006 the National Park Service issued an Environmental Assessment for the design and development of the Georgetown University Boathouse. The Preferred Alternative proposed in the Environmental Assessment called for a boathouse with a footprint of 18,682 square feet and a maximum height of 36'-6" measured from the grade to the ridge of the roof.
- On December 3, 2007, the National Park Service issued a Federal Register notice announcing initiation of an Environmental Impact Statement.
Learn more about the boathouse, its background, and the historical timeline.
