Chicago-based commercial real estate developer Randy Podolsky is behind a new marina at the city’s Navy Pier.
Navy Pier Marina has an estimated cost of $9 million, according to Crain’s Chicago Business, and is scheduled to open in 2021. Podolsky is an avid boater and has been a member of the Coast Guard Auxiliary for 29 years.
“Every time I go boating, I think to myself, Why can’t I park at Navy Pier?” Podolsky said in a statement “And I know that thousands of other boaters feel the same way. It seemed like such a waste.”
Privately financed, the marina will be on Navy Pier’s north side and will offer hourly, daily and weekly dockage for boats to 130 feet. It will include concierge services, a lounge, a chandlery, Wi-Fi, utilities and pumpout.
Lou Sandoval, commodore of the Chicago Yacht Club and national director of business development for Nautic-On, a Brunswick subsidiary, said the marina would be convenient for boaters to dock and get dinner downtown without hailing a cab.
“I think the location is unique — it’s in the epicenter of our city right next to Monroe Harbor,” he said. “The only question I would have is whether it can attract enough boaters, given that there’s been a surplus of slips at a lot of harbors in the city.”
Sandoval added that the marina’s transient-based approach could make it a better fit.
