MUSKEGON, Mich. — A new project proposed by the Muskegon Lakeshore Chamber of Commerce and other local groups could transform the city's downtown waterfront.
"We really want to see the downtown waterfront be more accessible to the public, which includes a lot of walkways, but another creative idea is to bring all the maritime vessels that are currently housed on Muskegon Lake together into the downtown," said Cindy Larsen, President of the Muskegon Lakeshore Chamber of Commerce.
Larsen and Max McKee, President of the Mart Dock, say the project would move the Milwaukee Clipper and other historic vessels to the Mark Dock, joining the USS LST 393.
"We're getting more and more people on board," said McKee. "The Mart Dock would be a multi-use facility with residential, public access. The LST would remain, possibly the clipper would come over, and so it would be a combination of multi-use in public and private access, much different than what it is right now."
The project could also bring updates to sites across the downtown waterfront. Larsen says that they are also looking to make Heritage Landing a multi-faceted destination.
"We really want to see a multi-use Heritage Landing, which means not just festivals, but a place for people to have weddings, family picnics, to gather on times when there is no festival there," said Larsen. "There are lots of creative ways that we can do that."
Larsen says research and public conversations are being used to develop the current plan. She says there is still more research to take place, along with more meetings and opportunities for public input before the project can come to life.
"Both the city and the county will have a number of community meetings so that people can add to the ideas that are already on the table," said Larsen.
While saying it is too early to know a total cost for the project, Larsen says that it would be funded by both private and public sources.
"Everything needs to fall into place, and it's a bigger picture," said McKee. "It's more than just the Clipper, and it's more than just the LST, it's really revitalizing. Muskegon is an active port, and that's a big part of this picture."