Winona Lake Town Manager Craig Allebach (back row, third from left) Winona Lake Town Council President Rick Swaim (back row, fourth from left), Winona Lake Parks and Recreation Director Holly Hummitch ( front row, center right), K21 Health Foundation President Rich Haddad (front row, fifth from left), Nathan Neal of NGN Construction (front row, sixth from left), along with representatives from the Kosciusko Chamber of Commerce, 1st Source Bank and Lake City Bank celebrate the opening of the Winona Lake K21 Limitless Park Restrooms, Friday morning, Jan. 24. InkFreeNews photo by Kory Stoneburner-Betts.

WINONA LAKE — The Town of Winona Lake celebrated the opening of the Winona Lake K21 Limitless Park Restrooms with a ribbon-cutting, Friday morning, Jan. 24.

Representatives from the town council, Parks and Recreation Department, Kosciusko Chamber of Commerce, NGN Construction, and local financial institutions attended.

One of the four new restrooms at Winona Lake K21 Limitless Park. InkFreeNews photo by Kory Stoneburner-Betts.

The bank of heated restrooms opened in mid-December. The restrooms will be open year-round, seven days a week from dawn to dusk. The restrooms exist to serve not only those who use the Limitless Park Splash Pad in the summer but also for those using the bicycle and walking trails year-round.

All four restrooms are unisex without any gender-specific signage on the doors.

Each restroom is handicap accessible and contains a changing table for those with infants and small children.

The restrooms are just one of several phases in the Limitless Park project. The first of which was the splash pad that opened in 2016.

“This was about a $150,000 – $160,000 project,” said Winona Lake Town Manager Craig Allebach.

The cost of the project was covered in part by contributions from multiple area organizations, including the Kosciusko County Community Foundation, with the town covering part of the costs on its own.

Allebach noted that the process of building the restrooms, “hadn’t been a pleasant one.”

The town ran into trouble when the project started two years ago, according to Allebach.

“We ran into some trouble trying to get the restrooms completed,” he said, in part to due to the original contractor folding. NGN Construction acquired the original contractor and continued with the project.

“They wanted to see this to completion,” said Allebach of the restroom project and NGN Construction. “If it wasn’t for them, I’m not sure where we’d be.”

In the future, Allebach says plans exist for the installation of showerheads on the wall across from the restrooms. The showers would be open to not only lake patrons, “but those who might ride the mountain bike trails,” he said.

“You don’t see open houses from restrooms, but these are nice and toasty,” Allebach said. “I know some people have pushed to have year-round restrooms and these are really nice.”

Future additions to the Winona Lake K21 Limitless Park include a fire pit. The fire pit is currently under construction.

Rendering of the Winona Lake K21 Limitless Park Master Plan. Image provided by the Town of Winona Lake.