Mayor Karen Freeman-Wilson will join City of Gary officials, representatives from the Northwest Indiana Regional Development Authority (RDA), the Lakefront East Advisory Board, and the Marquette Park Project Team to “break ground” in a special ceremony on Tuesday, April 3, 2012 marking the beginning of the next phase of construction for the Marquette Park Lakefront East Project. This ceremony will be held at the Marquette Park Picnic Pavilion at 11:00 a.m.
The upcoming construction phase will include approximately $1.5 million of park improvements, including the construction of a new parking facility at Marquette beach and utility improvements throughout the park. The Marquette Park Lakefront East initiative was made possible when the City of Gary was awarded, in June 2009, a grant for $28,190,000 from the RDA for planning, design, engineering, and select capital and operational improvements.
Located along the South Shore of Lake Michigan, the 241-acre Marquette Park is one of Northwest Indiana’s most admired and historic regional parks. Capital improvements, which are laid out in The Marquette Park Lakefront East Master Plan (MPLEMP), provide access to and circulation within the park, preserve and strengthen the park’s natural features, provide new recreational and educational amenities, and restore the park’s signature historic facilities. Collectively, when park-wide construction is completed in 2012, revitalization and improvements listed within the MPLEMP will help re-establish the park as one of Northwest Indiana’s premier lakefront destinations and enhance the quality of life and park experience for Gary and Northwest Indiana residents.