Sault Ste. Marie is replacing the portable restrooms at Rotary Park with a permanent pavilion featuring two family-style, ADA-accessible restrooms.

The $790,355 project will bring running water and sewer service to the park, along with baby-changing stations in both restrooms and a bottle-filling and drinking fountain on the outside of the building, according to Taryn Horton, engineering project specialist for the city. The park's two existing porta-johns will be permanently removed once the new facility opens.

Horton told SooLeader.com the pavilion has been in the works for several years. The city began the formal grant process with the Michigan Natural Resources Trust Fund (MNRTF) in 2023, and the grant agreement was approved in 2024.

Three funding sources cover the cost: a $275,400 MNRTF grant, $110,000 from the Rotary Club and $404,955 in local match funding from what Horton described as "several sources." The MNRTF is financed through royalties from state-owned oil, gas and mineral leases. A Michigan Department of Natural Resources press release on March 3 highlighted the Sault Ste. Marie pavilion, listed under the name Rotary Island Park, as one example of the fund's community impact as it marked its 50th anniversary.

Construction hit a bump along the way. At its May 18 meeting, the Sault Ste. Marie City Commission voted to terminate the original contractor, Cardinal Plumbing LLC, and awarded a new $656,700 construction contract to Ball Construction Company, according to city commission records. The commission also approved a $10,000 amendment with its engineering firm for services tied to the contractor transition.

The project is back on schedule. Horton said the pavilion is expected to be finished by the end of the 2026 construction season and fully available to the public by spring or summer 2027. "The facility will be seasonal and closed during the winter months," she said.

Beyond the pavilion itself, the project includes accessible pathways, parking improvements, utility upgrades and landscaping around the site.

The specific sources behind the $404,955 local match have not been itemized publicly.

What's ahead: Construction continues through fall 2026, with the pavilion expected to open for its first season in spring or summer 2027. No ribbon-cutting date has been announced.