King County and the Sammamish Rowing Association (SRA) celebrated the start of construction of SRA’s new boathouse in a ceremony last Sunday that attracted nearly 400 people.

King County Executive Dow Constantine, King County Councilmember Kathy Lambert, SRA Executive Director Marcy Chartier and two-time Olympic rowing medalist and University of Washington national champion Anna Cummins were on hand along with many SRA members and supporters at Sunday’s event, as well as mayors and council members from several Eastside cities.

Construction of the new boathouse, at the site of the old boathouse where the Sammamish River flows from Lake Sammamish at Marymoor Park, will allow SRA to continue its popular community rowing program well into the future.

SRA has introduced the sport of rowing to hundreds of school-aged kids across King County, with youths from more than 50 schools participating in its program. King County provided SRA with a $540,000 grant through its Community Partnerships and Grants Program, with the SRA providing the remainder of the estimated $1.7 million cost of the new boathouse.

The project has an extensive habitat restoration component, including restoring wetlands and replanting trees, shrubs and other vegetation at a ratio of nine new plantings for every one tree removed.

Boathouse construction should be completed by next September. For more details, visit www.sammamishrowing.org/newboathouse