MUSKEGON, Mich. — Phase one of a reconstruction project began Tuesday, aiming to restore the Muskegon South Breakwater Lighthouse.
Signage on a fence blocking public access to the lighthouse says a collapse is inevitable without complete reconstruction.
WATCH: Reconstruction on Muskegon Lighthouse begins; aims to restore structure to avoid removal
The two-phase project will cost a total of $1.6 million.
Half of the funding was secured through a state grant, but the remaining $800,000 needs to come from the community.
Phase one of the project will secure the base of the structure by winter, since its currently in critical condition, according to Owner of Kindred Marketing, Don Kalisz.
“You want to secure the base now before winter, because if you don't, we run the risk of it being too late,” Kalisz said.
Phase two, set to start in the spring, will replace everything from the internal structure to the fog horns.
Kalisz says just because phase one of the project is now underway does not mean the lighthouse will remain.
“If we don't get the remaining portions of the funds gathered from the community, we run the risk of losing the lighthouse entirely,” Kalisz said.
So, Kalisz kick-started a capital campaign in mid August the last time he spoke to FOX 17, in an effort to raise the needed $800,000 from community members to save the lighthouse.
Michigan Lighthouse Conservancy Volunteer Manager Kim Lange is pleading with her fellow residents to fund the reconstruction project to keep what she calls 'Muskegon's legacy' alive.
“They represent our hope and our future, and to lose them would lose our hope, would stifle our future,” Lange said. “We need to continue to be able to see them and watch them and let our future generations watch them through the sunsets and the sunrises.”
If all $1.6 million is secured, Kalisz says reconstruction will be complete sometime next year.
To donate to the Muskegon South Breakwater Lighthouse, click here.
