Chikaming Township Beach Project Going Strong

cherry-beach-e1529613558820
cherry-beach-e1529613558820

An effort in Chikaming Township to raise money for the expansion of a popular beach is now in its home stretch. Chikaming Township Supervisor David Bunte tells WSJM News the Cherry Beach Project seeks to raise about $1 million for the purchase of three acres adjacent to the beach.

“We’re targeting now approximately $225,000 additional,” Bunte said. “We’ve raised somewhere in the neighborhood of $800,000 to date, including all of our matching grants.”

Bunte says the locally-raised money would be added to several grants for the full $4 million for the land. The acquisition would triple the size of Cherry Beach. Bunte says Chikaming Township needs more lakeshore to be accessible to the public.

“About 2% of the entire seven mile stretch of lakefront property that Chikaming Township has is accessible to the public,” Bunte said.

Bunte tells us pledges have poured in from all over, and they are still being taken. The deadline to raise the $225,000 needed is the end of September. Making a pledge now doesn’t cost anything, as the Berrien Community Foundation, the drive administrator, won’t collect until after the project is successful. You can find out more at CherryBeachProject.com.