Sports

Sammamish Rowing Association Opens New Boathouse in Redmond

The new 12,000-square-foot boathouse on West Lake Sammamish Parkway was the inaugural Recipient of the King County Community Partnership Grant.

After about 10 years of planning and fundraising, the Sammamish Rowing Association's new boathouse opened to a happy crowd of rowing enthusiasts Saturday, Sept. 14.

Some 200 teens and adults gathered to celebrate the grand opening of the new boathouse for the Sammamish Rowing Association (SRA) at 5022 W Lake Sammamish Pkwy NE in Redmond.
 
The festivities marked the completion of the boathouse ground floor, which will house SRA’s fleet of 60-plus rowing shells and more than 200 oars.

One of the biggest rowing programs on the West Coast, SRA has operated for most of its 18-year history out of an abandoned and decrepit boat shed, with minimal electricity and no running water.

SRA members say that after an arduous 10-year permitting process due to the challenges of permitting in a wetland area, the club’s rowers are excited about long-awaited state-of-the-art telescoping boat racks. But they are even more thrilled about the prospect of flush toilets replacing the much-reviled port-a-potties.

“People are often stunned to learn we run such a successful club out of such an inadequate facility,” said Jennie Proby, SRA Executive Director. “We finally have a boathouse that will protect our investment in equipment and provide a training site worthy of our rowers.”

The total project cost is expected to be around $3.3 million, including about $1million total in grants King County’s Community Partnership and Grants Program (CPG) and a Youth Sports Facilities grant. The association continues efforts to raise the final $600,000 to finish the second floor of the 12,000-square-foot boathouse, which will include a 2,100-square-foot workout space, a multipurpose meeting room, staff offices, and locker rooms. 

SRA was the first organization to receive a grant from CPG Program, a public/private partnership initiative that empowers non-profit organizations to develop public recreation facilities on King County land in a manner that does not result in new publicly funded operations and maintenance costs. For example, CPG has helped fund construction of the boathouse, but SRA is entirely responsible for operation of all programs and maintenance of the facility. 

“In the past decade, our Community Partnership Program has helped organizations complete more than 50 community based projects, with a public investment of slightly more than $14 million that has been matched by more than $40 million in private funding,” said King County Parks Director Kevin Brown.

Sammamish Rowing Association serves over 400 registered teen and adult rowers, plus hundreds more who come through the doors for “Row for a Day” programs. The club draws kids from over 30 schools and adults from across the area, and runs programs from 5 in the morning until 8:30 at night, seven days a week. SRA rowers compete – and win – in local, national, and regional regattas. SRA has a no-cut policy, maintains reasonable class fees, offers financial aid, and promotes community service. Learn more about programs or donate to the project at SRA's website.


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