Porter County is wrapping up the purchase of its seventh park site, this time near the Brincka Cross Gardens in Pine Township.
But don't expect to see ball fields, playgrounds or even many hiking trails.
The 137-acre park site, which has yet to be named, is being preserved and restored as a sanctuary for migratory birds and for the protection of water in the Lake Michigan coastal area, said Porter County Park Superintendent Walter Lenckos.
"Massive environmental benefits," he said.
The new park site is located a mile and a half east of the Brincka Cross Gardens at 427 Furness Road and on the south side of what is Old Chicago Road at that point, he said.
The preservation of the property is a requirement of the grant funding, Lenckos said. The purchase is being carried out with $451,000 from the Coastal Estuarine Conservation Land Program, $245,000 from the Bicentennial Nature Trust and $196,000 from The Conservation Fund.
The sale is slated to be finalized by the end of the month and the seller has agreed to reduce the sale price by $10,000 to $880,000, Lenckos said.
Lenckos said the purchase came about because he had met with real estate agents several years ago to let them know what types of properties the park department may be interested in obtaining. One agent let him know when this property came on the market and the news came just as he learned about available grant money.
The property is made up primarily of a beautiful and mature forest, Lenckos said and has been in the same family for several generations. A small portion has been farmed, but that will be restored to forest as more grant money is found.
The plan calls for the creation of a walking trail around the perimeter of the property, he said. Lenckos was unsure how long it will be before the site is open to the public.