CHICAGO — Calumet Park, a beloved recreational area on Chicago’s Southwest Side, is set to welcome a new and exciting development in the coming years. This transformation will see an old dump site along the shores of Lake Michigan repurposed into a vibrant public park, much to the delight of local residents and environmental advocates.
The transformation of this area into a public park is being hailed as a significant victory for the community. A recent unveiling of an official sign marked the location of what will soon become the latest addition to Chicago’s network of public parks.
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Currently referred to as Park 608, this new green space is temporarily named but promises to provide a much-needed escape for city dwellers. The Chicago Park District has ambitious plans for the 40-acre expanse of lakefront property, situated at the northeastern corner of Calumet Park, aiming to reintegrate it into the community’s recreational offerings.
“Chicago’s lakefront should be dedicated to people and parks, not toxic waste dumps,” stated Howard Learner, CEO of the Environmental Law and Policy Center, underscoring the significance of this development. This project is not only an environmental triumph but also a step toward enhancing the quality of life for those who cherish Chicago’s precious lakefront.
The Chicago Park District plans for the 40 acres of lakefront property at the northeast corner of Calumet Park to come back into the fold.
“Chicago’s lakefront is for people and parks not for toxic waste dumps,” said Howard Learner, Environmental Law and Policy Center CEO.
Currently, it is the Calumet Confined Disposal Facility, or CDF. It was built in the 80s by the Army Corps of Engineers to dump dredged material from the Calumet River and Calumet Harbor to maintain access for ships.
Activists and attorneys fought a plan to expand CDF. Instead the lakefront property will become a park for public use.
“Today, the city of Chicago and the Chicago Park District no longer support an expansion of the CDF. Instead we are committing to the expanding and restoration of that site into public park land as promised to this community decades ago,” Chicago Park District Superintendent Carlos Ramirez-Rosa said.
“After years of grassroots action and legal advocacy, this toxic landfill will be turned into a flourishing new park for the Southeast Side and all of Chicago,” said Brian Gladstein, Friends of the Parks executive director.
Once CDF closes, after one more dredging, the material needs to be capped and land restored for safe public use.
Joann Podkul has lived across from Calumet Park her whole life, and hopes the additional park will be a source of recreation for residents as the rest of Calumet Park has been.
“We are on the far, far, Far Southeast Side of the city. There are many people in the city who do not know we exist. So yes it will take longer here, but It doesn’t mean that it won’t happen,” Podkul said.
It will take years, even decades, for the transition.
But next year the Park District opens the planning process to the public, which includes the naming of what is now called Park 608.
