Villanova University has acquired a 9.8-acre of Conshohocken land with plans to build a new boathouse along the Schuylkill River, writes Ryan Mulligan for Philadelphia Business Journal.

The land had been proposed as the site for a 270-unit apartment project.  Villanova paid $11.5 million for the property at 601 Washington St. last month.

The “best in class” boathouse facility will be used by the Division I women’s rowing team and the men’s club rowing team.

A gift from Terry and Patty Cavanaugh will help pay for the boathouse construction.

The Cavanaugh’s daughter graduated from Villanova in 2017 and was a captain on the rowing team.

Villanova’s rowing facilities are separated from the other “City 6” schools.

The University of Pennsylvania, La Salle, and Drexel’s rowing teams are at the iconic Boathouse Row. St. Joe’s and Temple’s boathouses are upstream of them.

Penn recently spent $13.5 million to renovate its 19th-century boathouse.

“In order to compete at the highest levels of Division I and offer the best possible student-athlete experience, we have been actively looking for a more permanent location on the Schuylkill River for our successful Rowing program,” said Director of Athletics Mark Jackson in a statement.

Read more about Villanova’s new boathouse plans in the Philadelphia Business Journal.

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A short film on Villanova rowing for the 2017 Villanova rowing seniors.