Steel City Rowing

==Background==
==Insights==
===Steel City Rowing Club plans $1.4M LEED-certified boathouse in Verona===
:August 15, 2007 from Pop City Blog by Jennifer Baron, Source: Dori Tompa, Steel City Rowing Club
Steel City Rowing Club, the upper Allegheny River’s sole rowing organization, is spearheading the construction of a $1.4 million LEED-certified boathouse.
Located at the end of Arch St. between Verona and Penn Hills, the 14,000 square-foot facility will house boat storage areas, offices, lockers and showers, and indoor training space. Accessible from Allegheny River Blvd., the three-story boathouse will also feature community meeting space.
Designed by Karen Loysen, the sustainable boathouse will incorporate geothermal heating, passive solar techniques and non-toxic materials. “We’re using natural resources of rivers to heat and cool, to minimize our impact. There is so much wind in this location,” says Dori Tompa, with Steel City Rowing Club, who is working with Azizan Aziz, professor of sustainable architecture at CMU. “We’re hoping it can become a teaching tool.”
Construction on the boathouse is slated to begin in November. “Our goal is to reach 600 members once the building is complete. There’s a lot to gain from being out on the water. If you can learn to appreciate the river, you’ll take care of it,” says Tompa. The club trains award-winning rowers of all ages who compete internationally, offers free “loan to row” days, and runs a summer camp that attracts participants from all over the country.
Plans for the boathouse’s one-acre surroundings call for a new park, water and land trails, docks, and a parking area. The project has received $150,000 from Allegheny County Economic Development, $500,00 from the state’s Redevelopment Assistance Capital Program, and funding from Friends of the Riverfront.
category:organizations