Rowing clubs in The Woodlands are one step closer to having a permanent boathouse facility at Northshore Park on Lake Woodlands.
The Woodlands Township board of directors voted April 27 to negotiate a 10-year naming rights agreement with Woodforest National Bank to construct a 7,000-square-foot boathouse.
“Rowing in the community has been at Northshore Park for the better part of 30 years,” said Chris Nunes, parks and recreation department director. “This is a historic activity, and there’s been much debate about a boathouse at Northshore Park since that time.”
Township officials said the facility could be completed by summer 2017.
Although the township set aside $1.2 million in the 2015 budget for renovations to Northshore Park, there was no funding included for the boathouse. Woodforest officials are committed to contributing $500,000 for the project in lieu of a signage agreement that would be approved by the township’s Design Standards Committee.
Sponsorship signage is not unfamiliar in the township, which has existing agreements with sponsors for several major events, such as The Woodlands Financial Group Muddy Trails Bash and the CB&I Triathlon, Nunes said.
The projected cost for a 7,000-square-foot boathouse is $851,060, leaving approximately $300,000 for Parati Competitive Rowing and The Rowing Club of The Woodlands to pay and $50,000 for the township to fund. Regardless of the additional cost, several township directors were in favor of the larger facility to accommodate future growth.
“I’ve never been part of building, to this point, a project where I thought we built too much,” township Director Ed Robb said.
A 7,000-square-foot facility would provide an extra 1,000 square feet for use by the township to possibly rent space to kayak owners or serve as a third boat rental facility. However, township staff is not confident a third boat rental facility would be profitable with the Riva Row and Lakes Edge boathouses already in operation.
Tony Montano with Parati Competitive Rowing said the club has put The Woodlands on the map with its success and is looking forward to the boathouse facility.
“We hope to bring home the national championship and continue building the reputation of The Woodlands and Parati,” he said. “We have done all this out of a cramped rowing facility made out of leaky shipping containers. We are very excited about the boathouse project.”
Robb said the project is magnificent for the community.
“I want to congratulate those who have been advocates for rowing for these number of years and also for this achievement of having this great sponsor,” he said.