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Yahoo
27-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
From blight to beautiful: Gary releases plan to revitalize downtown
GARY, Ind. (WGN) — Once a bustling Midwest steal town, officials in Gary, Ind., are promising to make a comeback and redevelop the city to reverse the trend of population decline, abandoned buildings and blight that is too much a part of its 2025 landscape. Leaders in the Northwest Indiana city of fewer than 70,000 teamed up with the University of Notre Dame to create a master plan of a vibrant, attractive and walkable downtown district. 'This plan builds on our administration's long standing to build community investment and shape a long term commitment to downtown for the next generation,' Gary Mayor Eddie Melton told WGN on Tuesday. The vision, outlined in a report released Tuesday, is the culmination of a partnership made last year with the University of Notre Dame School of Architecture's Housing and Community Regeneration Initiative. The partnership included a series of community listening sessions and a weeklong public urban planning session. Gary, Indiana secures project win for Lake County Convention Center A major part of the process was reestablishing a historic preservation board to identify the most important structures to keep in the city while demolishing and clearing some properties that have been in decline for decades. 'There were things in the drawing that didn't resonate, and people said, 'No you didn't get that right,' so the next day we cleaned it up and then said, 'Did we get this right?' And then we drew again,' explained Marianne Cusato, the director of the Notre Dame program. Gary's Broadway corridor will be the cornerstone of the urban renewal, with the goal to make it a bustling mixed-use district with shops, art galleries and entertainment venues catering to residents and visitors alike. The next step is to adjust current zoning codes to align with the the 10-year plan. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
20-02-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
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 first phase will target abandoned properties in key areas like Broadway, the RailCats Stadium district, and Jackson Park, while preserving historic sites for future development. Mayor Eddie Melton's administration, in partnership with urban planners and transit officials, envisions a walkable, transit-connected downtown with new businesses, public spaces, and infrastructure upgrades. But while funding ensures demolition can begin, local leaders say real revitalization depends on community involvement to prevent blight from creeping foundation for this redevelopment push was laid during Melton's tenure as state senator, when he authored Senate Bill 434, which established a blight property demolition fund for Lake County, specifically Gary. The match grant programs allow the city to use state funds to remove depleted structures for potential new development. 'Being born and raised in Gary, most of these buildings were abandoned when I was a little kid, so that's all I seen and all I knew,' Melton said, emphasizing the lack of resources as to why some of these structures have still remained standing. 'We're getting ready to create a clean slate for a future generation of folks that will see a safer and cleaner Gary.' Before taking office, Melton and the city of Gary collaborated with the University of Notre Dame School of Architecture to create a 10-year master plan for downtown revitalization. Through community listening sessions and urban planning sessions, the school's Housing and Community Regeneration Initiative created a sustainable plan that attracts new businesses and talent, creates a safe and walkable downtown with quality public spaces, and provides multimodal transportation with access to Indiana Dunes National Park or Chicago. The law passed in 2023, enabling the city to secure state and federal funding to spearhead the project. All Gary had to do was raise the $12 million needed to jump-start the program, and that hasn't been a problem. Early last year, the Hard Rock Casino of Northwest Indiana pledged $3 million, matching funds the city had already secured. By the end of 2024, the Northwest Indiana Regional Development Authority (RDA) contributed $6 million dollars to support Gary's blight removal efforts. 'We think Gary has great potential, and we're happy to help them any way we can,' said David Wellman, RDA's director of communication. Gary's downtown is the first target for redevelopment. 'Within the boundaries, we're focusing on the most dangerous structures that needs to be demolished and make it site-ready,' Melton said. Some buildings will be demolished, while others that can be salvaged will be. Among key sites in this phase are the Mecca building at the corner of Fourth and Broadway, and the back half of the Palace Theater. A developer has already begun plans to convert the remaining portion of the Palace Theater into a mix of retail and residential space. 'Everything that's burnt out, abandoned, or dilapidated is what our primary target is,' Melton said, with his primary goal being safety and the best use of building renewal or removal from an economic development standpoint, while maintaining some historical integrity in architectural designs. According to city officials and the RDA, this phase should be completed within the year, beginning as soon as weather permits. The redevelopment plan also reinvests property and income tax revenue into infrastructure projects, including sidewalks, public spaces, and parks, to improve quality of life. For many residents, the city's blight removal initiative is a positive step forward — but lasting change, they say, will take more than bulldozers. 'I think [the city's redevelopment plan] will definitely address the problem,' said Jeffrey Edwards, founder of Gary Community Partnership.'You can clean up a city, but if its residents have the wrong [mindset] to sustain the effort, you just throw away good money.'Edwards said he believes revitalization is as much about people as it is about buildings. His nonprofit trains teenagers ages 13 to 18 in civic responsibility, teaching them to clean up vacant lots, maintain properties, and take ownership of their neighborhoods. 'Your environment is a full, true determinant of health,' he said.' It's not just removing trash, but it's literally determining the health of the people who live in the community.' Like Edwards, Penelope Love, president of the Aetna Revitalization Program, believes that blight removal must be a shared responsibility between the city and its residents. Love, who has led neighborhood cleanups and advocated for demolitions, praised Melton's hands-on involvement in community efforts. But she also knows that city action alone won't be enough. Her organization began as a grassroots effort when she and her neighbors, eager to improve their neighborhood, took action — cutting grass around neglected homes, lobbying for demolitions, and transforming vacant lots into gardens. 'We're not just throwing some money at something again,' Love said. 'But we're putting it in places that make it attract and make people want to come down here.' Gary is in contention to become the next home of the Lake County Convention Center, making the blight removal project a natural step to prepare the city for its potential future. The removal of blight will open the door to new businesses, transportation, and residences for current and future residents. 'We're going to be thoughtful and intentional on making Gary a safer community, free from blight,' Melton said. The post Gary's $12M Revamp: Tearing Down the Past, Building the Future appeared first on Capital B Gary.
Chicago Tribune
05-02-2025
- General
- Chicago Tribune
Winner announced for the biggest annual award for architecture
British architect Liam O'Connor is the winner of this year's Driehaus Prize from the University of Notre Dame — the award of $200,000 is the largest cash prize in the world of architecture. O'Connor is best known for his modern takes on war memorials and other public memorials, including the Commonwealth Memorial Gates in London, inaugurated in 2002 as a memorial for soldiers who served in the World Wars, and 2021's British Normandy Memorial in France. 'The jury acknowledged his lifelong dedication to the design of a body of excellent new traditional public and private buildings and civic monuments — works projecting grace and beauty and expressing the shared emotions and cultural expectations of their audiences,' according to an announcement of the award on Wednesday. The Richard H. Driehaus Prize is presented annually by the University of Notre Dame School of Architecture in recognition of that year's laureate's body of work. It's given in the name of the founder of Chicago-based Driehaus Capital Management and the award will be presented in a ceremony on March 22 at Chicago's Driehaus Museum (50 E. Erie St.). Additionally, the Henry Hope Reed Award of $50,000 will go to Belgian architect Philippe Rotthier.
