Rowers Ready to Christen New Clark Park Boathouse

North Side rowers are getting antsy for a new boathouse opening soon in Roscoe Village. The Clark Park Boathouse, at 3400 N. Rockwell St., is one hurdle away from completion.

The only thing separating the rowers from their shiny new facility is electricity. An uncommon amount of rain has prevented Com Ed from installing wiring into the building.

“Every time someone is set to come in, there’s always a storm that blows in and they have to do residential repairs,” said Betsy Trevarthen with the Chicago Rowing Foundation.

The new boathouse will be home to the CRF—formerly known as Lincoln Park Juniors Chicago.

The club hopes to move in sometime mid-July, with a community open house celebration to-be-announced for August.

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While the facility will be home to both the CRF and rowers from North Park University, residents aren’t excluded from the boathouse. Anyone can come during open times to use the indoor rowing tank, canoe or kayak. Fitness classes are also on the horizon.

“The way that we’re kind of looking at it is that it’s just another park building, but one that’s strictly rowing-focused,” Trevarthen said.  "We're really excited to offer these programs to the community and move into the neighborhood."

The 20,000 square foot facility totals $7.4 million, with $1 million coming from tax increment finance funds. The Chicago Park District and private donors paid for the rest of the cost.

With storage pays for boats, locker and training rooms and an indoor practice tank, the boathouse will be one of the best in the Midwest, according to CRF.

For the rowing club, the move is a game-changer. Now, athletes practice in a floating boathouse behind the Whole Foods in Lincoln Park. With more space and state-of-the-art facilities, the nonprofit hopes to expand beyond its 300 student rowers.

CRF began in 1998 through a grant to make rowing available throughout the city. Currently, students come from 45 different schools in Chicago, with 100 percent of them attending college after graduating.

“It’s been an awesome experience for me as a coach to bring that together and see what our team has done for kids in terms of changing them in a positive way,” Head Coach Mike Wallin told Patch in May. “Our team is set up so that it wouldn’t just be a bunch of wealthy kids whose high school didn’t have a rowing team.”