Mayor Rudolph Clay 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 for a ceremony dedicating the first phase of the Marquette Park Lakefront East Project.

The ceremony will be held in front of the Father Marquette Monument on Friday, December 23, 2011, at 1:00 p.m.   Improvements at the Recreation Pavilion and Site, the Father Marquette Monument and Site, and the Oak Savanna Restoration will be highlighted and dedicated with the unveiling of project plaques. During the ceremony, a ribbon cutting will take place to mark the opening of the newly renovated Father Marquette Monument.

The $9.06 million restoration of the Recreation Pavilion and Site, Father Marquette Monument and Site, and the Oak Savanna represent the first phase of capital improvements that are being constructed under RDA grant funding. 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.

One of the many Beyond the Beach sites located along 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 construction throughout the park is complete in 2012, revitalization and improvements 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.