We are diligenty working on an Updated list of Vacant and Abandoned Properties.
The Gary Redevelopment Commission is the municipal agency responsible for all public demolition in Gary. Most demolition is funded through federal programs, such as the Hardest Hit Funds (HHF) blight elimination program or the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development’s Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) program. The City also has an in-house demolition crew that performs smaller scale demolition. If you have questions regarding demolition, please call our offices at 219-886-1531.
In the fall of 2014, the City of Gary was awarded $6.6 million for demolition through the Hardest Hit Fund Blight Elimination Program, the largest award in the state of Indiana. These funds went toward demolition of 365 vacant and abandoned homes (see list below), and has lead to $4.4 Million award for demolition 102 more properties for 2018 as well, and may lead to more city wide demolition, due to cost savings and efficiencies in our local demolition processes. This map shows all properties scheduled for demolition, and all completed demolitions in the Hardest Hit Fund program. Check back regularly as the City adds properties to our Hardest Hit Fund list.
In cooperation with the Delta Institute, the City of Gary Redevelopment Commission is piloting a deconstruction program on twelve homes across the city. Deconstruction is the process of taking apart a home, in lieu of demolition, through environmentally friendly methods. Through deconstruction, components of the homes are salvaged and resold for reuse or recycling, job training opportunities are realized, and the history of our city’s built environment is preserved. The City of Gary hopes to more regularly incorporate deconstruction the future, using the pilot to inform a larger program going forward
In 2014, the City of Gary Redevelopment Commission oversaw the successful completion of the former Sheraton Hotel demolition. The blighted 14-story structure, Gary’s tallest, had stood vacant next to City Hall for almost 30 years as a discouraging symbol of disinvestment in Downtown Gary. The $1.7 Million project, completed by Homrich (Carleton, MI), was funded through a partnership between the City of Gary Redevelopment Commission, the US Environmental Protection Agency (US EPA), the US Department of Housing & Urban Development (HUD), and the Northwest Indiana Regional Development Authority (RDA). Efforts to redevelop the site as a public park space are currently underway.
In December of 2015 the City of Gary Redevelopment Commission will oversee the completion of the Ambassador Hotel & Apartments demolition. The blighted 7-story structure had stood condemned and vacant next to Jefferson Elementary school in the Horace Mann neighborhood, posing a significant threat to public health, and standing as a discouraging symbol of disinvestment. The $800,000 project is being undertaken with the assistance of Shrewsberry & Associates, Gary Material Supply (Gary, IN), and Karner Blue Era, LLC, and funded by the City of Gary Redevelopment Commission, the Indiana Office of Community & Rural Affairs (OCRA), and the Northwest Indiana Regional Brownfield Coalition. Efforts to redevelop the site as new residential development are currently underway.
In 2015, the City of Gary Redevelopment Commission completed the 600 block of Broadway demolition project, successfully bringing to a close a project that included the clearance of five long vacant, dangerous commercial buildings de-listed as historically significant due to severe disrepair. The two- and three-story buildings at the 600 block have stood vacant in Downtown Gary’s Broadway corridor for over twenty years, posing a significant threat to public health, and standing as a discouraging symbol of disinvestment in Downtown Gary. The $400,000 project undertaken by JM Industrial Services (Hammond, IN) and funded by the City of Gary Redevelopment Commission and the Indiana Office of Community & Rural Affairs (OCRA).