In Northwest Indiana, the cleaning and removal of a former brownfield site, and subsequently redeveloped for public use and natural resource preservation, is being regarded as a model of hope and possibilities for the future of other former industrial sites along Lake Michigan.

Known today as the Portage Lakefront and Riverwalk, the facility was designed in partnership between the city of Portage and the National Park Service (NPS). The project included a 3,200 sq. ft. pavilion with multipurpose room, restrooms, and visitor information desk; a 125 car parking lot; 0.3 miles of roadway; 0.5 miles of trails; a fishing pier; a 950-foot breakwater walkway; and a 1,500-foot riverwalk. The city secured more than $10 million dollars for the planning, design and construction of the project from the Northwest Indiana Redevelopment Authority (RDA). 

During the site’s first six months of operation in 2009, more than 85,000 visitors have walked the trails, fished, attended education programs, enjoyed the beach, stepped out onto the breakwater and strolled the riverwalk. It is the first completed project adhering to the principles of the Marquette Plan, a regional effort to provide more opportunities for the public to access the Lake Michigan lakefront. The site has been recognized for several architectural awards including the 2007 Burnham Award for Excellence in Planning from The Chicago Metropolitan Planning Council and the Indiana Governor’s Award for Environmental Excellence.

Prior to that—in March 2009—the NPS had entered into a Cooperative Management Agreement with the city of Portage agreeing to operate the site under NPS standards providing all operational support including staffing for visitor services, maintenance and custodial services, visitor management and scheduling of the multipurpose facility. A supporting Operations Manual was also agreed upon to spell out specific procedures and standards for the operation of the site.  

The property’s roots trace to 1986 when a 57-acre piece of property identified as tract 09-117 located on the southern tip of Lake Michigan was authorized as part of Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore by Public Law 99-583. Tract 09-117 had been owned by the National Steel Co. which used the site as an open pit dump to store acids and other liquid residues from its steel making operations.

The site had also been the location of a waste water treatment facility serving the steel plant. The national lakeshore’s General Management Plan called for the development of recreational facilities at the site including hiking/biking trails, beach and fishing access, restrooms and parking facilities. The site is also home to several populations of Pitchers thistle (Cirsium pitcher) a federally listed Threatened and Endangered species.

 

In order to make the land suitable for acquisition as part of the national lakeshore, National Steel began the cleanup of the site and removal of all the toxic materials. By 2003 the site had been granted a “Clean Closure” designation by the EPA and the Indiana Dept. of Environmental Management. In 2004 the site was purchased by the National Park Service with aid of a $3 million appropriation for land acquisition supported by Congressman Peter Visclosky.

 

Now cleaned, the site was still inaccessible. Though located on the Lake Michigan shoreline, the tract did not have direct public access due to rail lines and steel making infrastructure that bordered the east and south sections of the tract. In order to provide a safe access to the steel companies across the rail lines, the State of Indiana constructed an $11 million dollar overpass. This overpass also created the opportunity for public vehicular access to the Tract 09-117 and the NPS secured easements along the access roads.   

 

This legislation that added the area to the national lakeshore also authorized the National Park Service to enter into a cooperative agreement with the State of Indiana or “any political subdivision thereof for the planning, management, and interpretation of recreational facilities on the tract….” The tract lies within the city limits of the City of Portage, Ind. In 2005 the city approached the NPS with a desire to enter into a partnership to construct recreation facilities as outlined in the lakeshore’s General Management Plan. A cooperative agreement was signed by both parties for the development of the site. The city contributed $200,000 as part of a grant match to the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers for the demolition and removal of the waste water treatment plant.

 

The proposal was submitted for Congressional review and was subsequently approved in October 2007, with construction costs exceeding $5 million. The design of the site focused on sustainability using recycled materials, geothermal heating and air conditioning, local materials, on site waste reduction, water use reduction and of course the rehabilitation and reuse of a former brownfield site. As a result the site has attained a Gold LEED certification. The conceptual plan was reviewed and approved by the NPS Development Advisory Board and hailed as a model of cooperation and ingenuity.  

 

As the finished project was to be a donation to the NPS, an innovative method of allowing the city to construct the project with non-NPS funds was needed. The NPS entered into a unique sole-source construction contract with the city for the construction of the facilities to NPS specifications and procedures meeting all agency standards for development projects. A groundbreaking ceremony was held in October 2007 and the site was declared substantially complete in November 2008.

According to the sponsors, the Portage facility is a testament to the collaboration between federal, state, and local government in conjunctions with the private sector in creating new recreational opportunities than the Portage Lakefront and Riverwalk.

www.nps.gov/indu