The town of Chesterton recently received a $200,000 federal grant toward replacing 350 feet of deteriorated boardwalk and building a new staircase at the Coffee Creek Park.
Chesterton will provide a match of up to $200,000 for the Lake Michigan Coastal grant, which is administered by the Indiana Department of Natural Resources.
Coffee Creek Park off Morgan Avenue is located behind Chesterton’s downtown. Parks Superintendent Tyler McLead said the new staircase would provide a better pedestrian connection with the downtown.
Another part of the project would be to eradicate invasive plants around the boardwalk and replace them with native plants.
The town’s next step is to issue a request for proposals for a firm to do the design. The actual construction work will probably occur next year, McLead said.
In 2021, a master plan proposed up to $13.6 million in improvements for Coffee Creek Park to enhance the park and improve its connection to downtown. One major part of the plan was to purchase a Calumet Road building across from Thomas Centennial Park for a grand entrance to the park from the downtown.
The first project, funded with a Lake Michigan Coastal grant that paid half the $363,217 cost, upgraded the park’s trail loop. That project, finished in October 2024, included constructing three piers on the pond and installing a decorative limestone outcropping.
Since the Coffee Creek master plan was revealed, another major development shifted the focus for community investment.
The Duneland YMCA is redeveloping the old Chesterton Middle School property into a healthy living campus.
One part of that project is developing Cleveland-Cliffs Park on the old athletic fields. That new park, which would have an outdoor pavilion, is adjacent to Chesterton Park, where new pickleball courts have been built and the splash pad was upgraded.
Nevertheless, McLead has said the goal still is to revitalize and maximize the potential of Coffee Creek Park.
Jim Woods is a freelance reporter for the Post-Tribune.
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