Navy Pier Marina set to open

CHICAGO (WGN) — After nearly a decade of delays due to political opposition, the $22 million Navy Pier Marina will soon begin welcoming boaters.

The project has been under construction since last year. 

“The original concept here was to be able to let people from around the lake have a place to tie up at the heart of the city,” said Randy Podolsky, the marina’s developer.

Located on the north side of Navy Pier, the marina will be “transient,” meaning boaters can rent space for a day or more, but it won’t have permanent slips.

There will be space for as many as 150 boats and the marina is intended to make downtown Chicago more accessible to boaters from all over the region. 

Podolsky first pitched the idea back in 2016.

“We did a lot of research back then that suggested that there would be about $10 million in economic impact by having the marina here,” he said.

At the time, Podolsky received approval for the project at every level of government from the federal Army Corps of Engineers to the Illinois Department of Natural Resources and the Chicago City Council. However, then-Mayor Lori Lightfoot’s administration refused to issue the construction permit amid concerns about the project’s proximity to the Jardine Water Purification Plant.

But everything changed when Brandon Johnson took over as mayor. His administration agreed to issue the required permits.

And the marina is now scheduled to open this summer.

“It’s going to be big for the boating industry,” said Nina Monhan, chief operating officer at Chicago’s Freedom Boat Club, which isn’t involved with the project. “We’ve never been able to dock at one of our biggest tourist attractions.”

The marina is already accepting bookings, with prices starting at $40 an hour.

For more information, visit www.navypiermarina.com.