The old United States Coast Guard station in Harbor Beach hadn’t been in use in nearly half a century. Originally built in the 1930s, it had served the Coast Guard faithfully until the 1970s, when a new station was built on the north side of the city by the marina, and the older one was decommissioned. After demolition, all that remained was an old garage structure and the foundations of the pier.

By 2012, the United States government wanted to divest itself of the site. And so, the City began the process of taking the property over.

“We started looking at the possibilities of what could be there,” recalls City Manager Ron Wruble. “At the time, it was probably one of the worst blighted areas in the city.”

The site wasn’t contaminated, but it was unruly. Brush was growing along the shore. The pier structure was protruding out of the water. The old garage building, while well-constructed, had gotten a bit scruffy.

Serendipitously, nearby was a DTE coal-fired power plant that was planned for decommissioning. Because DTE had an agreement with the Michigan Department of Natural Resources (DNR) requiring it to maintain fishing access from the peninsula where the plant was located, the company needed to identify a replacement location for public lake access before selling the property.

The City of Harbor Beach partnered with DTE to develop a solution that would preserve and enhance recreational access along the waterfront. The result, what the City has called the “Waterfront Enhancement Project,” is the City of Harbor Beach’s entry for the 2026 Community Excellence Award.

“Harbor Beach is a well-rounded community,” says Community Promotions Director Kelly Osentoski. “We have industry within the city limits. We are surrounded by farmland and hunting property. We have a beautiful beach. We have several different parks in town, including a campground. We have a bike and a pedestrian trail, as well as a nature trail. Our harbor is the world’s largest man-made harbor.”

Built in the early 1900s, the harbor’s breakwater encloses approximately 640 acres—about one square mile—of protected water. Originally constructed as a harbor of refuge, it provided a safe haven for vessels seeking shelter from storms on Lake Huron. Today, the breakwater creates a calm, inland-lake-like harbor that remains connected to the lake while offering protected waters for boating and recreation.

In 2015, the City was awarded a $295,000 grant from the DNR Trust Fund. At the same time, it also received a $150,000 donation from DTE for the project. The City picked up the balance of a little over $500,000. But then, the hiccups started. “We were getting ready to start the project—and then the water levels in Lake Huron were at record highs,” says Wruble. “The water was going to be encompassing some of the project. So, we ended up having to basically redesign it for the higher elevation. And then we had to go through the permitting process over to get permits from the Army Corps of Engineers and EGLE.”

Construction started in earnest around 2022, working through pandemic-era setbacks and price hikes. Much of the project to reestablish the pier was done over the lake with the use of a City-owned sectional barge and excavator, which the City had purchased back in 2012 to dredge the marina. An ADA-accessible kayak launch was installed, donated by the local Rotary Club.

The project was largely completed by a team of retired skilled tradespeople, including a former millwright who fabricated much of the metalwork and subframe. Retirees from the construction industry also helped assemble the structure, while the DPW provided personnel and equipment support. Several workers were employed part-time through the Parks and Recreation Department, contributing as their schedules and weather conditions allowed.

“It got completed [with] very, very high-quality workmanship out there,” says Wruble.

A highly engaged community member joined forces with the Rotary Club to donate a gazebo that now sits on the end of the newly-built pier.

In spring of this year, the finishing touches were finished, and the new and improved Harbor Beach pier is now fully open and operational. “It’s being used by the public as we speak,” says Wruble.

The pier is now part of the Harbor View Trail network for non-motorized vehicles. “It extends and connects every part of Harbor Beach,” says Osentoski. “All of our parks, the downtown area, the campground, the marina, all the way through the town, you can use the Harbor View Trail.”

Now, anyone can use the trail to walk or bike from downtown to the pier, get onto a kayak, and then kayak out to Harbor Beach’s historic (and still functional) lighthouse.

The City is in discussion with Saginaw Valley State University about putting the university’s Lake Huron Outreach Center in that old Coast Guard garage building, still awaiting use. Once that happens, the Harbor Beach Lighthouse Preservation Society will operate their tours from the building.

“When I say we’re a really well-rounded community, that’s part of it,” says Osentoski.

“Everybody has been jumping in to help.”

Author

Emily Pinsuwan

Emily is the League’s full-time Content Writer, composing emails, articles, blog posts, and press releases. If you need words, she has many. Prior to becoming a word person, she was a restaurant person, handling catering, event management, and marketing; prior still, she was a teaching person, at a private boarding school in Massachusetts. Having earned a master’s degree in Classics from the University of Georgia, Emily is confident that she is the only League employee fluent in Latin. She also enjoys cooking, stand-up comedy, and is an avid gamer, having achieved level 40 on her Steam profile.