The boathouse will cover most of the space in the current parking lot.
Plans for Dallas United Crew’s boathouse have gone from gleaming facility and on-the-water structure before arriving at its current iteration, a flood-proof building that is officially temporary. The previous versions of the boathouse divided the community, but a compromise was finally reached on the temporary boathouse.
The structure will provide shelter for the boats and other equipment that are damaged by the constant exposure to the elements. The building will be mostly white with a blue stripe, but won’t have any Dallas United Crew (DUC) branding printed on its walls. There will be parking along Lawther, with a few handicapped spots, and a sidewalk leading to the ramp. There will be a metal fence around the building and equipment, but the sidewalk and boat ramp are always open to the public.
Even though City Council approved the structure in December of last year, there had been a number of delays in obtaining the permits according to DUC President Tammy Adams. She was especially frustrated that DUC’s adaptive rowing program that serves veterans suffered from the lack of wheelchair-accessible parking and a sidewalk to get to the boat ramp.
Along with the building, which is located on the east side of White Rock Lake near Big Thicket, the area will be paved, providing handicapped parking and a pathway to the public wheelchair-accessible boat ramp.
The caliche parking lot that exists now prohibited most of the wheelchair-bound veterans and other rowers who are disabled from accessing the boat ramp. Rowers would have to roll over uneven terrain or loose gravel and large rocks to get to the water.
Adams knows that everyone won’t love the building, but says DUC wants to serve the community and be good neighbors. Construction should be completed in the next few weeks.
