In 2021 Navy Pier will be home to Chicago’s newest marina. Navy Pier Marina, a private development on behalf of Navy Pier, will be the first marina on Lake Michigan to exclusively offer short term, transient docking facilities with immediate access to The People’s Pier dining, shopping and entertainment. The first-class marina will provide boaters with a new and unique boating experience and will serve as the premier lakeside entry to the City. The marina will be an enormous asset to visiting boaters from all four states that surround Lake Michigan. “Loopers”, visiting boats from other Great Lakes, as well as those transiting from the oceans to the Great Lakes will also now have a place to dock in Chicago for the duration of their stay.
The marina is generating excitement from the Lake Michigan boating community and neighboring states businesses. “Navy Pier Marina’s access for boaters who come from nearby states to Chicago will be fantastic and long-awaited” said Matt Eldean, co-owner of Eldean Shipyard in Holland, Michigan. “My grandfather, Uncle, and Father started in the industry at Monroe Street Harbor before the Park District began operating there. We have strong ties to and serve many Chicago boaters. Our customers are always asking us where they can find a convenient place to dock for access to restaurants and the City, which has previously been a challenge due to the lack of accessible temporary moorings. This marina will solve that.”
“Navy Pier Marina is being developed with private funding and will drive economic benefits to local businesses and the city,” said Randy D. Podolsky, project developer. Just a puddle jump away from the infamous ‘playpen’, a popular summer gathering place for boaters to relax and party with family and friends, Navy Pier Marina will offer convenient hourly mooring for dining and entertainment at the Pier.
“As the developer of the Curio Collection by Hilton hotel at Navy Pier, coming fall 2020, we applaud the developer of Navy Pier Marina for addressing the needs of boaters in nearby states who relish the opportunity to boat to Navy Pier, said Robert Habeeb, CEO of Maverick Hotels and Restaurants, a premier hotel development and management company, with locations in Illinois and Wisconsin. “We look forward to our guests boating at Navy Pier and being able to enjoy room service on their yacht, our restaurants, Offshore – the nation’s largest outdoor venue that sits on the third floor of Navy Pier’s Festival Hall – and even booking a hotel room for themselves or family and friends that they want to visit with during their Chicago stay.”
The marina will be located on the north side of Navy Pier and will offer hourly, daily and weekly, or longer, mooring to vessels up to 130’. The possibility of accommodating even larger vessels is being studied by the developer. Guest amenities include concierge services, 24-hour access and staffing, advance online reservations, secured after-hours entry, a boater’s lounge, ship store, WiFi, in-slip pump-out facilities, utilities (except fuel), and bike racks with a bike repair station.
The project is being developed for Navy Pier by NPM Venture LLC with design and engineering by world-renowned design and engineering firm, Edgewater Resources. It will be constructed with private-funding and is scheduled to be open to boaters for the 2021 boating season.
Photo: Rendering of Navy Pier Marina
