Here’s some very good news for anyone cruising on the Great Loop or anywhere on Lake Michigan. Starting next year, a new transient marina will open on the north side of Chicago’s iconic Navy Pier, right in the heart of town, with access to all the city’s restaurants, museums, stores and parks. You can tie up there for a few hours, a few days, or even a week, and then enjoy everything that Chicago, one of the most vibrant cities in the U.S., has to offer. (Full disclosure: My very first journalism job, many years ago, was working for a wire service there while I was in grad school at Northwestern; I got to know the city fairly well.)
The new Navy Pier Marina, which claims to be the only transient marina on Lake Michigan, will have 7,000 linear feet of dock space. Its floating docks will offer in-slip pump-outs, water and electricity. A boaters’ services building will contain a lounge, laundry, washrooms and showers. The marina also will have a ship’s store, Wi-Fi, grills, bike racks and concierge facilities. It says it will be dog friendly. It is large enough to hold a 130-foot yacht; there is no minimum boat size.
“A marina at Navy Pier has been talked about casually for decades,” says Randy D. Podolsky, manager of NPM Venture LLC, the new marina’s developer. “For over 35 years I have dreamed about being able to moor at Navy Pier for lunch, dinner, or an overnight stay. My vision is to make the conceived marina a dedicated transient marina bring the desires of all boaters to fruition.”
Mike Pretasky, Jr., president of Skipper Buds, the largest boat dealer in the Midwest, says the Navy Pier Marina “will be a fantastic destination for a weekend event. Our boaters are excited to have a new facility in Chicago giving them more ways to experience boating and creating memories with family and friends.”
The marina plans to hold a grand opening at the start of the 2021 boating season. Read more:
