After receiving approval from the D.C. Zoning Commission in Dec. 2003, the fate of Georgetown’s new boathouse hangs in the balance once again. On Tuesday evening, almost 100 members of the Georgetown community met with representatives from the National Park Service to discuss concerns about the proposed boathouse.
Tuesday’s meeting is just one of many hurdles that Georgetown University has encountered in its quest to build a new boathouse one acre upstream from the Washington Canoe Club. Along with the opposition from the community, Georgetown has had to garner approvals from the Old Georgetown Board, the Commission of Fine Arts, the local Advisory Neighborhood Commission and the Georgetown Waterfront Commission.
In accordance with the National Environmental Policy Act, the National Park Service must produce an Environmental Assessment to analyze the impacts of the construction of any new building. The EA for Georgetown’s new rowing facility means yet another approval for Georgetown University.
According to Richard Dorrier, a consultant at EDAW, the purpose of Tuesday night’s meeting was to provide a forum for the public’s concerns toward the proposed boathouse. Amidst the collection of statistics of the boathouse’s capacity, height, and water usage, gauging the views of the general public on the boathouse will help both the National Park Service and EDAW to create an EA. The EA could ultimately suggest modifications or even a prohibition on the building of the boathouse.
“The voices and concerns of the community will play a crucial role in our writing of the EA,” Dorrier said.
The level of concern over harmful results of the addition of the building to the historic waterfront varied from complete opposition to measured skepticism.
Sally Strawn, a Georgetown citizen, led the opposition to the construction of the proposed boathouse near the C&O Canal National Historical Park.
“The building would be 50 feet tall, towering above the river, the Capital Crescent Trail, and the C&O Canal and towpath, blocking views of the river,” she said.
Others in attendance expressed interest in building a modified version of the boathouse. Members from the Defenders of Potomac River Parkland introduced proposals to change the current size and location of the boathouse. They presented a smaller boathouse that could hold 28 eight-man boats instead of the current 42 boat capacity boathouse.
An alternative calls for a boathouse just south of the Key Bridge, large enough for 144 eight-man boats to accommodate the crew programs of George Washington University (GWU) and local high schools. This proposal, while sacrificing the concern about size, would eliminate future controversies likely to accompany the construction of additional boathouses along the Potomac River.
The meeting demonstrated opposition to the plan as it currently stands. The University may have to compromise to create a plan that satisfies the entire Georgetown community.
Rowers and coaches, however, do not support a non-exclusive boathouse.
Stationed currently at Thompson’s Boat Center, near the Georgetown Waterfront, the public rowing facility is shared by Georgetown, GWU and high school crews. Men’s novice lightweight crew coach Aaron Beck said that an exclusive rowing facility is essential to maintaining Georgetown’s future success in rowing.
“Space at Thompson’s has become more and more sparse and congested,” he said.
“Storage is difficult at Thompson’s now-we can’t store all of our boats as we don’t have a place for them.”
Rowers themselves express similar views. Varsity Lightweight rower John McGroarty (CAS ‘07) believes that it is time for Georgetown to have a first class rowing facility.
“Our crew team is one of the top programs in the country and deserves to have a boathouse that reflects the athletes’ and coaches’ dedication,” he said.
GUSA also backs Georgetown’s current proposal of the boathouse.
“Our crew teams and sailing teams are something that our university can be very proud of, and providing them with resources that will allow these teams to get even better is unquestionably something that can bring a lot of pride to our university and further position us to be a top-tier university for decades to come,” GUSA explained in a press release.
The EA, which will decide the fate of the new boathouse, is expected to be completed in the latter half of 2005, according to Dorrier.
$15 million dollars has been raised to date toward the boathouse campaign. If the NPS issues a decision in favor of the university’s plan’s Georgetown will have the authority to begin construction by the end of 2005.
