In his first State of the City address, delivered shortly after taking office, Mayor Eddie Melton laid out a vision for Gary’s future. A year later, he highlighted major development wins, including a $60 million FedEx distribution center, as the city competed for the Lake County Convention Center. On Tuesday, in his third address, Melton […]
blight
Posted inPolitics & Policy, Public Services, Redevelopment
Gary Is Betting Faster Graffiti Removal Can Stop It From Spreading
Bright pink and soft blue bubble letters stretch across the brick façade of the now-closed New Angel of Faith Missionary Baptist Church. The graffiti spreads across the building’s red brick and glass block windows, facing south toward Fifth Avenue, where cars and trucks rumble along the one-way street. Graffiti has long been a familiar sight […]
Posted inRedevelopment
Citywide Demolition Plans to Clear Dozens of Unsafe Buildings
Snow fell lightly Monday as an excavator’s steel claw hovered and tore through a century-old house, shattering windows and siding that had been warped by years of neglect. The three-story home, which once stood at 674 Harrison St., was the first of 60 structures to fall during this year’s Citywide Blight Blitz scheduled to take […]
Posted inPolitics & Policy, Public Safety, Redevelopment
Gary Secures $1.1 Million to Demolish Long-Abandoned West Side School
Abandoned school buildings have been among the biggest thorns in Gary’s side, standing as hulking reminders of decline. While some buildings have been torn down, the scale of the problem has continued to grow faster than funding to address it. Now, the city will use newly awarded congressional funding totaling $1.1 million to demolish the […]
Posted inPolitics & Policy, Redevelopment
From Eyesore to Opportunity: Gary’s Side Lot Program Gives Hope to Homeowners
Gaynette Ford remembers the day she danced in the street. After years of living next to a crumbling drug house, where strangers loitered, and needles littered the ground, she had all but given up on getting it torn down. Then, one afternoon, she came home to a sight she never expected: a demolition crew leveling […]
Posted inCommunity, Redevelopment
‘Bye Bye to Blight’: Gary’s Aetna Residents See Hope as Demolitions Continue
Since 2015, Penelope Love and her fellow neighbors of the Aetna Manor Revitalization Program have worked to restore the neighborhood through various cleanup projects. But eliminating blighted structures would take more than they could muster alone. Now, an ongoing city initiative fueled largely by volunteer efforts gives Aetna the boost Love sought. “It’s a good […]
Posted inEconomic Development, Politics & Policy
Gary’s $12M Revamp: Tearing Down the Past, Building the Future
Gary is tearing down the past to build its future. With $12 million in state, private, and federal funding, Gary’s demolition and redevelopment efforts are already underway, with the first structures coming this year as the city works to clear unsafe buildings, attract businesses, and reshape downtown. The first phase will target abandoned properties in […]