The ink is dry on documents establishing a roadside park on M-22 along the 45th Parallel on West Grand Traverse Bay in Suttons Bay Township.

On Friday, officials of the Michigan Department of Transportation (MDOT) and Suttons Bay Township signed closing documents creating a 4-acre waterfront park belonging to MDOT, plus an adjacent 43-acre natural area owned by the township.

A ribbon-cutting ceremony at the new 47-acre “45th Parallel Park” has tentatively been scheduled for Friday afternoon, May 4.

Suttons Bay Township Recreation Committee members Barb Jameson-Nelson and Tom Nixon, who also serves on the Leelanau Scenic Heritage Route Committee, are credited with bringing the complex land transfer to fruition after years of effort.

A breakthrough came last year when MDOT announced it was making available some $419,000 in state and federal funding to support the township’s 45th Parallel Park project.

For many years, MDOT officials assumed that a tiny waterfront turnout on M-22 belonged to the township, while township officials thought it was owned by MDOT. In fact, more than half of the 400 foot-plus waterfront area was owned by the family of township supervisor Rich Bahle, while the remainder of the waterfront parcel plus 43 acres inland was owned by the Pearson-McClure family of Tennessee.

Complicating issues was the presence of the old RLTD railroad right of way bisecting the property just west of M-22.

With volunteer help from Suttons Bay real estate agent Cory Beuerle, the township’s parks and recreation committee was able to get signatures on several complex purchase and sale agreements leading up to last week’s closing.

Although MDOT had yet to close on its purchase of the 2-acre Bahle property this week, MDOT planner David Langhorst said the agreement with the Bahles was a “done deal.” He said the Bahle family would receive between $200,000 and $210,000 of state money at closing sometime within the next several weeks, representing roughly $1,000 per linear foot of waterfront property that will become part of the roadside park.

Representatives of the Pearson-McClure family walked away from last week’s closing with a check for $340,683 for their 43-acre parcel. The parcel was considered “unbuildable” because of its hilly topography and the need for access through the former railroad corridor.

In addition to the $419,000 received through MDOT, Rotary Charities contributed $25,000, Suttons Bay Township gave around $50,000, and the Leelanau Conservancy added just over $50,000.

The 43-acre township-owned parcel will be managed as a “natural area” with some hiking trails, scenic overlooks and interpretive signage.

Currently, the Leelanau Trail ends at Dumas Road on the former railroad corridor, just a few hundred yards south of the 45th Parallel Park. Officials have expressed hope that easements may be obtained to extend the trail to the park sometime in the future.

MDOT’s Langhorst said it may be a while before the park is fully developed, and budget constraints have put on hold any immediate plans. Currently, the property does not meet specifications for an MDOT roadside park, he said.

“At some time in the future, MDOT would like to move M-22 to the west, closer to the old railroad right-of-way, to improve safety on that stretch of road,” Langhorst said.

“There were so many things that came together in just the right way and at just the right time to make this project happen that it’s amazing,” the MDOT official added. “There will be multiple benefits for many organizations, government agencies and the public,” Langhorst said.

Suttons Bay’s Nixon agreed.

“I never thought years ago when we started this project that it would be such a long process,” Nixon said. “But everything has turned out amazingly well, and I hope the public will enjoy their new park.”