Monday, June 16, 2025
Georgetown University announced last week “an agreement with the National Park Service and the District of Columbia that will provide Georgetown with land along the Potomac River where the university intends to build a boathouse.”
According to the university, “the boathouse, which will be located at the base of the Key Bridge, will serve as a hub for the men’s and women’s rowing teams. Georgetown will also provide rowing programming for the DC community, and the boathouse docks will be open to the public year-round for canoeing, paddleboarding and kayaking.”
With a century-and-a-half of rowing tradition, G.U. — which once had a boathouse near the new site — has been looking for ways to get back on the banks of the Potomac River.
“This collaborative effort, which has been underway for decades, will create a special space for the Georgetown rowing community and will usher in a new era for public access to the Georgetown waterfront,” Robert Groves, interim president of Georgetown University, said in a press release.
The university revealed: “Under the terms of the agreement, Georgetown will donate a parcel of land on the Potomac River to the National Park Service to be added to the boundary of the Chesapeake and Ohio Canal National Historical Park. This parcel includes an easement along the Capital Crescent Trail, which would be extinguished when the land is donated. This will allow for uninterrupted use of the trail by the public.
“In turn, the National Park Service will transfer administrative jurisdiction of two parcels at the base of the Key Bridge to the District for boathouse development. The District will transfer the site to the west of the bridge to Georgetown University for construction of a University boathouse. On the site to the east of the Key Bridge, the District will start the planning process to provide improved public access to the Potomac River, support the use of the Capital Crescent Trail, and connect to the Georgetown Waterfront Park.”
In the deal, Key Bridge Boathouse — once known as Jack’s Boathouse — would move up river, just west of the Aqueduct Bridge ruin.
The new G.U boathouse “would be funded solely through external fundraising and gifts to the university,” stated the private institution, which submitted its design concept to the Old Georgetown Board last week.
Along the Potomac River, the Georgetown University Boathouse would be next to Key Bridge and near the Potomac Boat Club. Courtesy Georgetown University.