The west end may have a new place for family and friends to recreate before the end of 2018.

At the Ishpeming Downtown Development Authority meeting Monday, Ishpeming City Manager Mark Slown said the last of the funding for the $600,000 project is nearly in place.

“We’ve got a grant from the Michigan Natural Resources Trust Fund, which is approved, we are just waiting for the governor to sign it,” Slown said. “The city council has approved spending the money on the engineering in advance. We are not going to let moss grow under our feet. The plan is to build it this year, and, if at all possible — that’s what’s going to happen.”

The structure will be able to be used year-round, Slown said, with glass garage doors to keep the elements out while providing a view of the lake, as well as amenities like a kitchen area and Americans with Disabilities Act-compliant restrooms.

The pavilion will be built at the former home of Cleveland Cliffs Mining Company administrative offices on the corner of Spruce and Euclid streets. The building was demolished in August 2014 and the parcel was donated to the city by Eagle Mine in November 2015.

This part of the Ishpeming area is already a very beautiful place for recreation, and couldn’t be in a better location with the Cliff’s Shaft Mine Museum directly behind it.

“This is going to be an attractive, special place in our community, near to the Cliff’s Shaft Mine Museum, which is arguably one of the reasons the city is here,” Slown said.

DDA Chair David Aeh said landscaping and public art will be a part of the project, including an obelisk at the front of the structure and a proposed tribute on the back of the building.

“One of the things that we discussed is etching or burring into the wood of the back the names of the fallen miners,” Aeh said, “having a proper respectful acknowledgement for who has paid for this and those who built this town.”

This is a very worthy addition to the downtown Ishpeming area that will offer family and friends a picturesque place to spend their summer days while overlooking one of Ishpeming’s most known landmarks.