Tulsa Rowing Club Boathouse - River West Festival Park The Tulsa Rowing Club has

[TulsaGoldenHurriCAN]

Rendering for proposed Tulsa Rowing Club Boathouse unveiled
The Tulsa Rowing Club has released a rendering of its proposed new boathouse on the west bank of the Arkansas River.

The facility will replace the original 1991 boathouse destroyed by arson in 2016.

Designed by Fritz Baily Architects, it will be situated at the same location as the previous structure, across the river from downtown in Tulsa River Parks Authority's River West Festival Park area, near 21st Street and Jackson Avenue.

The new structure will include three bays to store boats. It also will be taller to allow for an upper-story mezzanine-type workout area.

The estimated cost to replace the boathouse is about $500,000, according to rowing club leaders. The club has enough insurance money to replace a boathouse with the previous warehouse-style design — but not enough for the increased cost of a design that meets the requirements of the city's new River Design Overlay, which was passed after the boathouse was destroyed.

"The new RDO zoning requirements are great for development along the river, but they make it harder for us to build the same boathouse we built in 1991," Tulsa Rowing Club member Claudia Brierre said in a statement.

"As a result, we've had to adapt our design, and that's dramatically increased our building costs. With money on hand from insurance, we hope to build a shell of a building with no bathrooms, and probably need $150,000 to complete the boathouse and finish the interior."

If the rowing club were to complete the mezzanine in its updated design, Brierre said, the club would need an additional $120,000, which would allow for a workout space above the boat storage on the east side of the building and provide training facilities for the club's companion high school rowing program, Tulsa Youth Rowing Association.

"We've been a presence on the river since 1982, and there's a strong rowing community here in Tulsa," she said. "With this new boathouse, we can increase our visibility and be ready for the increased use of the Arkansas River when the Zink Lake improvements are completed as part of the Vision process in the next three years."

Tulsa Rowing Club has launched a fundraising effort to secure additional money to complete a boathouse that meets the new building requirements for structures along the Arkansas River.

"Our club has been actively working toward building a new boathouse for more than a year, talking with an architect to design and prepare construction drawings for the new structure," Brierre said. "We have an anonymous donor willing to match donations 1 for 1 up to $100,000, so we're going to do everything we can to build a boathouse that Tulsans can be proud of and that meets our members' needs for years to come."

The club already has received funds from two Tulsa-area foundations, Cuesta Foundation and ONEOK Foundation.

For those interested in assisting with completion of the boathouse, donations can be made on the Tulsa Rowing Club website at tulsarowing.org or at a GoFundMe page, bit.ly/tulsaboathouse.

http://www.tulsaworld.com/business/realestate/rendering-for-proposed-tulsa-rowing-club-boathouse-unveiled/article_8c7419d0-67f9-5fd6-a9aa-b3eac0adbad4.html

[sooneralum2012]

Doesn't look bad, and I am glad its getting rebuilt, but I wish we had a corporation get involved and pony up $$ to make this thing truly great.  There is no reason Tulsa shouldn't have a boat house on par with what they have in OKC.

[SXSW]

Very cheap looking compared to the ones in OKC.

[Conan71]

Very cheap looking compared to the ones in OKC.

This is what you can do for $500K and it is very utilitarian, but it is a vast improvement over what it will replace.  TRC's masters and youth programs are among the best in the region and they have had kind donors over the years but no one willing to drop the kind of money which has been spent in OKC. 

With OKC Becoming an Olympic training site it has brought in the kind of national dollars Tulsa could not hope to capture.  The channel in OKC had more to do with getting USOC's attention than just the facilities. 

As I recall, Aubrey McClendon gave $3 or $4mm to build the Chesapeake Boat House which set somewhat of a standard at the time but I recall nothing about the boat house, from when I've raced there, which offered better training facilities other than the channel it sits on.  For rowing training, you need ergs (rowing machines), weights, an area for stretching, and boat storage.  That's it.  Well, a fire suppression system apparently wouldn't be a bad idea.

It's all about the training, not what the building looks like.  This building will be on par with many and look better than most boat houses around the country.

[TulsaGoldenHurriCAN]

Very cheap looking compared to the ones in OKC.

And? They weren't trying to compete or compare with the OKC rowing boathouse. They were trying to replace the previous one that was there (A very plain metal rectangle building). They got enough insurance just to replace it but it doesn't conform to new River Park West standards so they have to build something much nicer than what it was.

The new design does that. If they had millions donated, it would be a much nicer place. For $500k, it looks like a great design.

[heironymouspasparagus]

And? They weren't trying to compete or compare with the OKC rowing boathouse. They were trying to replace the previous one that was there (A very plain metal rectangle building). They got enough insurance just to replace it but it doesn't conform to new River Park West standards so they have to build something much nicer than what it was.

The new design does that. If they had millions donated, it would be a much nicer place. For $500k, it looks like a great design.

Nothing wrong with the look of that building at all.  It looks like it should/would be ideally suited to purpose and fit well with any surrounding stuff to come later on.

[SXSW]

What would be the reason you wouldn't have the boathouse at the Gathering Place, too close to the dam? 

[TulsaGoldenHurriCAN]

What would be the reason you wouldn't have the boathouse at the Gathering Place, too close to the dam? 

That sounds reasonable. Also, the Gathering Place didn't have a plan to add a rowboat house and already has a different  boat house that will be included. The rowing club has been at that location for a long time and probably hope to keep that spot long term.

[Conan71]

What would be the reason you wouldn't have the boathouse at the Gathering Place, too close to the dam? 

We generally turned the boats around at a minimum of 1/4 mile from the LWD.  If the flow was really high, it was moved even further north.  Depending on skill level, some rowers were restricted to staying north of the 21st. St. bridge under certain flow conditions.  It's also nice when you are going to work out to be able to park up close, not sure what the parking situation might be with TGP.

[SXSW]

We generally turned the boats around at a minimum of 1/4 mile from the LWD.  If the flow was really high, it was moved even further north.  Depending on skill level, some rowers were restricted to staying north of the 21st. St. bridge under certain flow conditions.  It's also nice when you are going to work out to be able to park up close, not sure what the parking situation might be with TGP.

Makes sense.  Maybe someday in the future there will be a redevelopment of the Mid-Con plant and Festival Park which includes an expanded boathouse.  Hoping it can all be a larger festival park/green space over there but who knows..