Update: The Park Board on Thursday decided to terminate the contract with Dallas United Crew. More here.
Dallas United Crew has been seeking to build a $4 million boathouse on the east shore of White Rock Lake since summer 2012. Some neighbors opposed the 9,000-square-foot structure on the water, which would include boat storage, locker rooms and showers for the roughly 150 students involved in the nonprofit program, plus an observation deck and fountains that the public can access.
Ultimately, however, city council gave Dallas United Crew approval to build on the city’s property. The design of the “floating” boathouse was honored by the Dallas chapter of the American Institute of Architects this past spring. It turns out, however, that Dallas United is nowhere near its $4 million fundraising goal, according to the Dallas Morning News, and the Park Board may vote this week to terminate, rather than extend, the 36-month contract that was made in November 2012.
The Dallas Morning News quotes Becky Rader, Councilman Mark Clayton’s new appointee to the Park Board, as saying, “Let’s terminate this contract. … They’ve had their 36 months to begin construction, and they do not have near enough the funding, nor have they started construction.”
The Park Board will discuss the contract at this Thursday’s meeting. Read the Morning News story for more.