Navy Pier Marina: How Chicago Politics Delayed Construction for 8 Years, 3 Mayors

As first published by Ben Bradley for WGN TV

Construction finally began this week on a long-stalled marina adjacent to Navy Pier, and the developer said he hopes boaters will be able to tie up beginning late next spring.

Eight years ago, Randy Podolsky thought it would be smooth sailing for his plan for a 150-boat transient marina next to Navy Pier. Then Chicago politics got in the way.

“You know, that vision of bringing the lakefront to Chicago boaters and to boaters around Lake Michigan and beyond, that was always the dream. That was always the vision,” Podolsky recently told WGN. “This is what it means today to have stuck it out.”

Local and state regulators, including then-Mayor Rahm Emanuel and the Army Corps of Engineers, signed off on the project years ago. But before the first pylon could be drilled, Lori Lightfoot took office as mayor. Her administration tried to kill the plan, claiming it would be a security risk to the Jardine Water Purification Plant.

The plant is directly across from the marina.

“The only reason this is not moving forward is Mayor Lightfoot,” Ald. Brendan Reilly (42nd Ward) told WGN in 2022. “The irony here is that if we were to install this marina it would make the north pier even more safe than it is today. There’s nothing to stop you from driving a boat through there right now.”

The marina developer sued, claiming Lightfoot’s administration “exceeded their authority” in denying to issue his building permit. Mayor Brandon Johnson lifted the brick on the project and withdrew the city’s opposition after he took office in 2023.

Work is now underway on the privately-funded effort and will continue through the winter with the goal of not missing another boating season.

“Nothing should be this hard. The community wants this. Navy Pier wants this. The politicians who were difficult to work with along the way all say they wanted it. It’s the reality of life, It should never have been this hard,” Podolsky said.