The National Park Service (NPS) and Arlington County will develop a low-impact, flood-resistant riverfront boat storage facility and launching site, including a boathouse facility and floating docks for nonmotorized boats. The facility will be located along the Potomac River shoreline in Arlington, Virginia south of the Key Bridge, east of the parkway and north of the existing Theodore Roosevelt Island parking lot.
Site access will be predominantly by transit, including both Metrorail and bus, by bicycle, and on foot. The project will be master planned to include two potential sites, colloquially called the “Lower Rosslyn” (owned by the NPS) and “Upper Rosslyn” (owned by Arlington County) sites. The “Lower Rosslyn” site would provide approximately 14,000 square feet of boat storage and additional space for a rigging area/apron. The space would be split with some of the space reserved for scholastic teams and the remaining for community users. Support facilities (for example, offices or locker rooms) may be explored (if the “Upper Rosslyn” site is not provided); however, additional facilities may be available at this location and instead would be considered for an approximately 7,000 sq. ft. ancillary facility at the County-Owned “Upper Rosslyn” site. A path would link the rigging area/apron to a 300-foot-long floating dock for launching rowing shells and other paddlecraft.
The County is currently coordinating the procurement process for the master plan development of both the “Upper and Lower” Rosslyn sites (as delineated within the National Park Service (NPS) Arlington County and Vicinity Boathouse Environmental Assessment). The County Board-adopted FY2023-32 Capital Improvement Plan (CIP) provides design funding allowing the County to develop a boathouse.