Gary plans Marquette Park makeover

BY KEITH BENMAN, Times of Northwest Indiana
kbenman@nwitimes.com

The city of Gary is laying plans for a rehabilitation and modernization of historic Marquette Park.

The city plans to ask the Northwest Indiana Regional Development Authority for funds for the project, which would improve access, parking and rehabilitate the park's pavilion and aquatorium.

"There is incredible need for putting together infrastructure and renovations there so we can capitalize on the tourist trade as well as serve the people of the region," Gary Councilwoman Marilyn Krusas told three RDA members Thursday.

Marquette Park includes expansive lagoons and rolling hills adjoining more than three miles of beach stretching to the east. The project would be bordered by U.S. Steel property to the west and County Line Road to the east.

Reports on a number of RDA-funded projects were presented at the afternoon meeting of RDA working groups at the Purdue Technology Center of Northwest Indiana. RDA Chairman Leigh Morris and members Howard Cohen and Harley Snyder attended.

The RDA already has granted $17.6 million for Marquette Greenway projects, which is U.S. Rep. Pete Visclosky's plan for opening up Northwest Indiana's lakefront for public use.

Gary has published a request for proposals from consultants, which are due back Aug. 22, according to Gary Director of Planning Christopher Meyers.

The consultant selected will develop plans to preserve and reuse historic buildings, natural areas and statues while developing a strategy for growth, according to the request for proposals.

No cost estimates for the project have been developed yet, Meyers said.

Marquette Park was opened in 1922. The land was donated by U.S. Steel.

The Aquatorium Society has a 50-year lease on the aquatorium, Meyers said. Part of it is used by the Tuskegee Airmen, and an Octave Chanute museum is planned to commemorate the aviation pioneer.