PORTAGE | At first glance, as you travel the winding road entering the Portage Lakefront and Riverwalk site of Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore, it appears the pavilion is rising from the waves of Lake Michigan.
The 1,200-square-foot facility's roof mimics the waves of the lake or a hull of the boat, slanted and curling upward at the corners.
This week, workers continued construction on the brick-and-wood building, which will house an exhibition area, classroom and concession kitchen. The drywall is nearly completed and the smell of fresh paint wafted through the yet unfinished windows of the glass-surrounded classroom. Outside work, including the construction of a porch and outside dining areas, are yet to be completed.
Outside, fresh concrete had been poured on top of the refurbished breakwall. When completed, it will serve as a handicapped-accessible fishing pier. Beginnings of an asphalt walkway from the beach around the Burns Waterway are evident. On the other side of the new entrance road, a bike/walking path winds on the edge of the dunes.
The site will be served by two parking lots, totaling 125 parking spaces.
The 60-acre former brownfield site has been nearly 30 years in the making and is expected to be completed this fall in time for an Oct. 16 grand opening, said Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore Public and Outreach Programs Manager Bruce Rowe.
The park is owned by the National Park Service, but will be managed by the city of Portage, said Rowe, adding it is a unique relationship between the National Park Service and a municipality, possibly the only one in the country.
The new park is the first major project being developed as part of the Marquette Plan, which aims to reclaim the Lake Michigan shoreline for public access.
Rowe said a unique quality of the park will be its accessibility. West Beach and Porter Beach now are the only handicapped-accessible National Lakeshore properties. The new site will provide wheelchair access to the fishing pier and beach, and along the riverwalk.
The land was purchased by the National Park Service for $3.38 million. Formerly home to a sanitary sewer plant, it received clean closure from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, which paved the way for the park's development. The Northwest Indiana Regional Development Authority has provided $10.1 million in funding for construction of the park.
