Tag Archives: Jack’s Boathouse

Photo by TrailVoice.

Over the holiday, unless you were totally checked out from DC news, you probably heard about the sudden eviction notice sent to the owner of Jack’s Boathouse from the National Park Service (which owns the land the boathouse sits on).

Despite the busy time of year, hundreds of devoted customers came to the defense of their cherished summertime haunt. In response to the outcry, NPS put the eviction plans on hold. This gave hope to Jack’s owner, Paul Simkin, but it hardly lifted the cloud of uncertainty.

After the stay was granted, NPS began to explain their side of the story. Apparently the lease is old and outdated. Simkin isn’t even on it. (Simkin took over control of Jack’s after his previous partner, Frank Baxter, passed away in 2009. Frank’s father was Jack Baxter, an ex-DC cop who started the boathouse in 1945.)

NPS explained that they were simply reviewing the contract and trying to “regularize” boathouse services. What that means is that NPS generally uses a concession-style agreement for its parks. So unlike Jack’s, which simply leases the space and runs its business, most business on NPS land don’t pay rent but pay a portion of their revenues to NPS.

NPS explained that it wants to keep a boathouse here (although they didn’t specify the exact location), it’s just that they want to shift it to a concession contract. But it’s not a simple matter of changing Simkin’s relationship with NPS; it would need to be bid out.

And there’s the rub.

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