It didn’t feel much like gardening, bicycling or soccer under snowy skies Dec. 3 as Calumet College of St. Joseph officials broke ground for its new sports field, fitness and flora park on New York Avenue in Hammond.
The chilly weather didn’t dim the enthusiasm for the new community park, one of several initiatives supported by Calumet College’s $15 million Lilly Endowment grant aimed at a campus and community collaboration.
Calumet College President Amy McCormack, Hammond Mayor Thomas McDermott Jr., and Hammond Councilman Mark Kalwinski, D-1st, addressed the small crowd of students and college representatives.
McDermott said the new park continues the outreach for the small college nestled next to Whiting’s BP footprint. Its main building once held Standard Oil’s research and development center, complete with a seventh-floor executive lounge with a view of Lake Michigan and the refinery.
Some of the college’s athletic programs share sports fields in Whiting and a portion of the grant money also enhances that partnership.
This fall, the grant funding replaced artificial turf at Oil City Stadium where the college and Whiting High baseball teams play home games along with the Northwest Indiana Oilmen.
Grant proceeds are also funding a re-turf of the Whiting High football field and stadium upgrades. The college sprint football team also uses the field.
McCormack, who envisioned many of the initiatives, called it a “generation-defining gift” last year.
She said it allows the college to further its mission to reach beyond its campus and impact others.
The two-acre fitness and flora park, at 2512 New York Ave., will transform a former industrial parking lot into a green space where residents and students can enjoy recreational activities.
It’s expected to be completed next year.
It will include a woodland garden, restrooms, a shaded picnic area, bicycle parking and a repair station, a two-tier retaining wall with seating, a public art area, and a sports field that can be used for football, flag football and soccer.
Surrounded by a rooftop terrace, the seventh-floor lounge in the main academic building is undergoing the biggest transformation from the Lilly grant, becoming a community event space and educational center.
Elevators are being extended to the top floor, where visitors can learn the story of the region’s contributions to the industrial era and view stories about characters from the Gilded Age.
The area will be made publicly and privately available for gatherings and events.
Carole Carlson is a freelance reporter for the Post-Tribune.
Calumet College building new community sports field, fitness area
