Township making offer on land to expand beach park

Laketown Township will be expanding its property at its beach, 6710 142^nd Ave.

On Wednesday, May 13, 2026, the board authorized township officials to buy a 0.70-acre parcel to the north of its parking lot at the end of 142^nd Avenue. The land does not touch Lake Michigan but does adjoin current beach property.

The land cost $220,000. A Michigan Department of Natural Resources Trust Fund Grant covers 75 percent of the cost, and the township is paying $55,000.

The board voted unanimously to approve a purchase agreement after more than 45 minutes in a closed session. No decisions were made in the closed session. The decision was made in open session.

After returning to open session, Supervisor Steven Ringelberg said there are a variety of possible uses for the expanded beach area, but it was not the board’s job on Wednesday night to decide that.

Once the new parcel is acquired, the township park will total about 9.5 acres.

The last time the township added property to the beach park was in 2024 with the purchase of 3.17 acres on the southwest side of the park. That was also paid for through the same grant used to fund the most recent purchase.

In 2022, the township acquired a piece of property that now allows the construction of new beach steps from the top of the dune to Lake Michigan. Before the township owned that property, it had to build its previous steps in 1993 around the private property and down the south side of the land. Those steps were removed in 2025. The beach steps will be replaced in 2026.

In 2019, the township purchased three parcels, each about a third of an acre, on the northeast end of the park along 142^nd Avenue.

The township acquired its original beach land in 1926.