Muskegon's New Lakefront Park Has a Christmas Deadline. Here's What Gets Built First.

Officials expect Muskegon's port and waterfront land swap to take more than 25 years to play out. One piece of it is moving on a much shorter schedule. The new 3.12-acre park on Muskegon Lake, next to the Shoreline Inn, is set to have its first construction phase start in early November and finish by the end of December. That deadline explains why the first version of the park will mostly be walkways and plazas. It also explains why most of what people asked for at the October walk-through is headed for a later phase.

Here is how the different parts of the plan line up as of early November 2026:

In September, MLive reported officials saying the community would not see physical changes from the overall project for at least two to five years. The Third Street park is the exception, and the reason is money that comes with an expiration date.

Why $2.8 Million Has To Be Spent By New Year's

A $2.8 million state grant is paying for both the purchase of the Third Street property and the park's development. According to MLive's Oct. 21 coverage, the city has to spend that money by the end of the year, so the timeline is moving fast.

The schedule has already slipped once. When the Muskegon City Commission approved the land swap on Dec. 9, 2025, the city's project update said it expected to close on the Third Street property in early 2026, with limited public access by summer 2026. Summer came and went. The design firm wasn't hired until late summer. At its Aug. 25 meeting, the commission voted to pay Progressive Companies $96,621 for planning, community engagement, survey, site design, environmental work, permitting and limited construction administration.

That left about four months between hiring a designer and the grant deadline. Within those four months, the public got one in-person session and an online survey that ran about a week.

Wave or Edge: Choosing the Layout

The public review took place Tuesday, Oct. 20, from 5 to 6:30 p.m. on the site itself. The Muskegon Sun listed the meeting spot as the city parking lot across from Pigeon Hill Brewing Company on Shoreline Drive. Attendees reviewed two park concepts and three styles for amenities.

Both concepts have the same basic elements: a pathway connecting downtown to the water, natural shade, and green space infrastructure. The difference is the layout.

• Wave uses a looped path around a large lawn.
• Edge runs the pathway past a series of plazas.

The choice is mostly about what kind of open space downtown gets: a big lawn or a series of plazas. Public Works Director Dan VanderHeide told MLive why the October input mattered so much:

"Because of the compressed timeline that we're under, it will be the last time that folks have the opportunity to really impact the flat components of the park – the pathways, the plazas, things like that."

The flat components are what fits a December deadline. Walkways, plazas and lawn grading can be finished before winter. The elements people tend to picture in a lakefront park take longer to build.

What Residents Asked For, and When It Could Come

MLive counted about 100 people at the site that Tuesday evening. They walked the property and talked with the designers. The suggestions included bike paths and racks, a kayak launch, heated sidewalks and public restrooms.

According to VanderHeide, many of those ideas will go into a later concept plan. That plan will cover what the city couldn't fit into this phase, so it can pursue future grants or other funding for it. So the order of construction follows the funding. This year's money pays for the ground plan. Restrooms, a kayak launch and anything else on the list will have to find their own funding later.

The waterfront itself falls in the same category. In August, VanderHeide told MLive the city envisioned "more of a boardwalk or dock along the water trail along the water, some places to hang out with family and friends in a natural environment." Neither the October designs nor the December schedule includes a boardwalk. Residents who saw the concepts noticed something else. VanderHeide said many people were "pleasantly surprised" by how directly the site connects to downtown. That connecting pathway appears in both concepts, so it is the piece most likely to be on the ground first.

Toni Gurn, who lives in the Nims neighborhood, told MLive: "I use the downtown and I'm sure I will be using this area."

The Park Is the Small End of a Much Bigger Trade

The Third Street property is one part of the land swap the commission approved in December 2025. In that deal, the city and West Michigan Dock and Market Corporation, known locally as Mart Dock, are reworking three pieces of lakefront property. The goal is to move industrial shipping away from downtown and open more of the downtown shoreline to the public. The city's project page breaks it down like this:

1. Third Street Wharf and Mart Dock. The city takes ownership of just over three acres, and Mart Dock keeps the rest. Part of Mart Dock's property is slated to become public space with boardwalks, green space and Muskegon's maritime monuments. Other parts stay private for housing and other development.
2. Fisherman's Landing. Two-thirds of the city park at 501 E. Western Ave. is planned for port operations, and the campground will be removed. The boat ramps, fishing areas and most of the parking stay open to the public.
3. The Verplank property. This is 52 acres next to Fisherman's Landing. Two-thirds would go to port use and one-third to public recreation, including walking paths, fishing spots, wildlife viewing and access for non-motorized boats.

Together, MLive reports, the plan would add 4,000 more feet of public access to Muskegon Lake. MLive has also described the closing of the campground as the controversial part of the deal. Under the December update, the campground stays open through the 2026 season and the boat launch stays accessible at all times.

Much of the larger plan depends on federal money. Muskegon and Mart Dock applied to the U.S. Maritime Administration's Port Infrastructure Development Program for $29.7 million toward a project budgeted at $37.15 million. Applications for fiscal 2026 were due June 1, 2026. The program's page currently lists awardees only through fiscal 2025. Chuck Canestraight, president of Port City Marine Companies, which owns Mart Dock, described the company's intent to MLive this way: "We don't want to block out Muskegon."

The other public pieces depend on property purchases and federal funding. The Third Street park was paid for up front with state money that has to be spent by year-end. That's why the smallest piece of the plan is being built first.

Following It Through the Winter

The city's latest update says residents should see progress on the park before the end of the year. A few practical notes for the coming weeks:

• Where to look: The site is on Muskegon Lake just southwest of the Shoreline Inn, next to Mart Dock. The October event used the city lot across from Pigeon Hill Brewing on Shoreline Drive.
• Which concept was picked: The survey closed Oct. 28. The final layout and the amenity style will be posted on the city's Downtown Lakefront Park project page, where you can also sign up for email updates.
• Fisherman's Landing: The campground's camping seasons are over under the approved plan. The boat launch, fishing areas and parking remain open to the public.
• The next round of input: Bike racks, restrooms, a kayak launch and the waterfront edge are all set for a future concept plan, which will lead into new funding requests. That plan is the next chance to weigh in.

If you own near downtown Muskegon or are watching homes close to the lakefront and want to talk through what these waterfront changes could mean for you, Zuniga Real Estate Team will walk through it with you clearly. Schedule a no-pressure conversation.