City of Whiting Celebrates Completion of Whiting Lakefront Park

A decade ago, the area just east of Whihala Beach in Whiting was nothing more than a gravel parking lot. Lakefront accessibility was not friendly and the overall visual of the area in Northwest Indiana that offers the best views of the Chicago skyline was less than spectacular.

But the dedication of Mayor Joe Stahura, the Northwest Indiana Regional Development Authority (RDA), U.S. Congressman Pete Visclosky, American Structurepoint and a variety of funders from the private sector has resulted in a revamped Whiting Lakefront Park.

The ribbon cutting on the project took place on Friday, after Stahura said “99.9 percent” of the work has been completed.

“Not too long ago, this was a gravel parking lot,” said a choked up Stahura when addressing a crowd of 100 or so on hand to celebrate the project’s completion. “To see the results being a great park like this is phenomenal, and it never gets old looking across the lake and seeing one of our more popular suburbs, Chicago.”

But in all seriousness, Stahura had several people to thank for helping the city reach this long-awaited goal.

The RDA and President and CEO Bill Hanna provided “financial assistance and belief in our community.”

“Without the RDA, we would not be here today,” the Mayor said, referring to the $22 million grant the organization provided for the project.

Hanna, who spoke to the crowd on a picture perfect day overlooking the blue waters of Lake Michigan, said it was “a privilege” to be there and is “proud of this project.”

“I’m thrilled to be in front of a bunch of friends today and celebrate the results of vision, action and funding all come together,” he said. “People years from now will remember this as a golden era for Whiting, when the right people made change happen.”

British Petroleum (BP), whom Stahura says have “truly been strategic partners in growing our city” and the Whiting City Council and Redevelopment Commission, which gave the city “unwavering support from day one,” also received a note of gratitude.

Nick Spencer, BP Whiting Refinery Manager, said the project has turned what is now known as Lakefront Park into “the crown jewel” of the area.

Visclosky took that one step further, praising leadership in Whiting for doing their part in the Marquette Plan, which seeks to open up at least 75 percent of the lakefront from the Illinois border to the east side of Portage.

“Lets push Joe’s success east for future generations to enjoy,” he said.

American Structurepoint, the project’s engineering firm and several of the construction companies and sub-contractors also got praise from the Mayor.

“Sometimes we overlook the ones who do the most work,” Stahura said.

Stahura, known to Whiting residents as a down-to-earth Mayor who always gives credit to others, forgot to mention one key player in the project. That would be himself.

“Today is one of the happiest days of my life, and that is because of Joe and the residents of the city of Whiting who saw this through,” Visclosky said.

Stahura said the final .1 percent of the project should be completed within a couple of weeks, and also took the time to reveal that plans to bring the Mascot Hall of Fame to Whiting are progressing. The 25,000 square foot facility is “an amazing opportunity” to bring even more positive exposure to Whiting.