PBRA Boathouse Expansion

Founded in 1978 by an ardent group of former college rowers who stored their boats outside on a colleague’s lawn on Lake Mangonia in West Palm Beach, in 1986 members and friends of PBRA built a boathouse on city land at 2957 North Australian Avenue in West Palm Beach. Today, with approximately 50 masters and junior members and nearly 50 non-resident members, the club has grown to become a winner of races in regattas all over the world ranging from the U.S. Masters National Regatta to FISA World Masters, and the Head of the Charles. Medals line the boathouse walls.

While PBRA has encouraged participation by junior members, until recently it was constrained from developing a junior program both by space and the availability of electric launches. Because Lake Mangonia is part of the West Palm Beach reservoir system, only electric boats are allowed on the water. Over the past ten years, manufacturers have developed launches that have the battery power to support more than two hours of use without having to be recharged and have become affordable for PBRA.

With the growth of the sport of rowing and the accelerating development of West Palm Beach following the COVID Pandemic, PBRA has enjoyed increased membership and has outgrown its current “one bay” boathouse.

Fortunately, at the same time, Urban Youth Impact, an organization located at 2823 North Australian Avenue close to PBRA, expressed an interest in developing a rowing program for the West Palm Beach disadvantaged youth it serves that would be similar to the long-standing program at RowNewYork that has successfully served New York City youth with an extraordinary record of significantly increasing high school graduation rates, college entrance on scholarships, college graduation—life changing events for students in largely minority and disadvantaged families.

Developing such a program has been a long-time goal of PBRA but it lacked the scale and resources to establish such a program. UYI will bring both the rowers and the academic oversight to assure that the participants focus on both academics and rowing as well as commitment, team building and sustained focus.

PBRA has spent the past three years securing a long-term lease from the City of WPB on the property adjacent to the boathouse, developing the design of the boathouse, securing site approvals and building permits. Construction started in January 2025 and was completed in October 2025, with an official opening on November 10, 2025. The new four-bay facility substantially increased the boathouse capacity with space for twice as many boats and oars, significant space for fitness facilities and indoor rowing machines and two restrooms with lockers and showers. Additionally, one bay has space to accommodate an electric launch to support a junior program.