Construction on a new 10,800-square-foot Green Lake Community Boathouse is expected to begin in mid-September, according to the Seattle Parks and Recreation. The parks department is warning visitors to Green Lake that the construction will affect the Green Lake path. Walkers and others using the path will need to follow detour signs. Additionally, the current Small Craft Center in Green Lake Park will be closed and demolished.
The parks department is finalizing the construction contract for the project this week and if construction starts later this month, parks officials expect it will be completed by fall 2023.
More storage, teaching space, bathrooms
The new boathouse will expand boat storage space and make it more efficient and at the same time add additional instructional space. It will be fully accessible allowing the parks department to launch Seattle’s first public adaptive rowing program, expand its paracanoeing program, and expand programs for individuals of differing physical and cognitive abilities.Â
New restrooms, locker facilities and areas for off-water instruction as well as a community meeting space are all part of the design.Â
A long history
The new facility will replace the Small Craft Center which has been home to Green Lake Crew for 74 years. The rowing program was started by storied University of Washington rowing coach Al Ulbrickson in 1948 and is believed to be the oldest public junior rowing program in the nation. In 1963, long before Title IX, the crew added a rowing program for girls, another first for the region.Â
It is also home to the 50-year-old Seattle Canoe and Kayak Club, a public club founded in 1969. Â
Over the decades, both programs have introduced thousands of Seattle youth to rowing and paddling, opening doors to a diverse community, and even launching some to success on the national and international stage.Â
A community project
Community volunteers, in partnership with Green Lake Rowing Advisory Council, Associated Recreation Council, and Seattle Canoe and Kayak Club, advocated for the project and raised funding from both public and private sources. The project is being funded in part by private donations and grants from the Land & Water Conservation Fund, Washington Wildlife and Recreation Program, King County, Seattle Department of Neighborhoods and Seattle Parks and Recreation’s Major Projects Challenge Fund.
To stay up to date on the progress of the Green Lake Community Boathouse at the Small Craft Center visit https://www.seattle.gov/parks/about-us/current-projects/green-lake-small-craft-center-redevelopment
 Read more at Seattle’s Child:
