Should Harborside Get a Twin?

I recently attended a program called The Evolving Calumet, which featured a moving history of the Calumet region of Chicago. This region comprises 4800 acres of open land, three lakes, and 2000 acres of abandoned industrial wasteland left from the dismantling of the steel mills that once filled this southeast corridor between Chicago and Indiana.

Northern evergreen forests, eastern deciduous woods and Midwest prairies all meet at this natural wetland area created by the last glacier that also formed Lake Michigan 12,000 years ago. In the 1880's the steel industry arrived and dramatically reshaped the landscape, capitalizing on the Calumet River's three arms extending into Lake Michigan and the Cal-Sag channel.

In the 25 years that the last steel mill was shuttered the region has undergone a natural renaissance. The marshes and lakes now support species that disappeared 100 years ago. There is a bald eagle pair nesting in the region and a moratorium on all landfill and incinerator construction was made permanent.

In 1995 the Chicago Port Authority opened Harborside International, a two course (36 hole) facility complete with practice range, golf school and club house amenities. Harborside was built over a 450 acre landfill that caps the north end of Lake Calumet. Both courses are links style, beautifully designed (if you like links courses) and expensive (over $75 per round, cart required). As of 2007, Harborside has become the primary revenue generator for the Port Authority, which wants to add another 18 holes.

The problem? This next course would not be improving an old landfill or a brownfield, but would likely require filling in one of the marshes nearby. Another exclusive, expensive golf course that does not improve any of the man-made wasteland, does not add jobs to a region that has suffered economically worse than any other area in Chicago, and reduces the natural wetlands seems like a bad idea all around.

I'll be paying attention to this development, as I need to know more to determine if this is as bad an idea as it appears.