Gary Roosevelt High School Brainstorm Session asked for feedback on plans to repurpose the closed school

Public views draft plans for reuse of Roosevelt High School

Contributed By: The 411 News

With some extras thrown in, the draft plans for a re-imagined Theodore Roosevelt High School were on view Saturday, April 19th at the Gary Career Center.

Presenters, the National Gary Theodore Roosevelt Alumni Association, Gary Community School Corporation, City of Gary, and the Indiana Landmarks Black Heritage Preservation Program called it the ‘Gary Roosevelt High School Brainstorm Session,’ inviting the public to review the draft on the possible uses for Roosevelt and offer feedback.

Roosevelt’s closure in 2019 galvanized a community of alumni and their supporters to save the school with lots of ideas for reuse of the buildings and grounds.

They reckoned it wouldn’t be a school again and not all of it could be saved.

Now, 6 years later with the building secured and protected from vandals, the ideas for reuse collected over the years were back on the table.

In 2024, the Black Heritage Preservation Program succeeded in having Roosevelt named to the National Trust for Historic Preservation's 11 Most Endangered List.

The National Trust joined with local and state efforts to preserve and repurpose the school. The list is used by donors nationwide who want to fund nonprofits.

Last year, the City of Gary and the Gary Community School Corporation agreed to a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) for Roosevelt High School that will maintain Roosevelt’s safety for the next two years.

The Gary school district promised to continue video surveillance and alarm system security. It will maintain fencing, doors and window grills. The utilities will be kept on and the lawn maintained. The district will also maintain property and liability insurance.

Roosevelt’s parking lot, football field and tennis courts are on land owned by the City of Gary. The MOU requires the city to maintain its property.

The draft plan presented by Eunice Trotter, the Director of the Black Heritage Preservation Program considers the school buildings, grounds, sports fields, and park areas along Harrison Street from 25th Avenue to 21st Avenue.

“Next steps are to prepare the building for potential partners to visit and see the great architecture and spaces in the school,” Trotter said. “We know that there is enough space for a variety of uses, but we want to make sure these will be uses that serve the community.”

Another preservation task is helping the school district preserve important content left in the building, Trotter said. “There is a tremendous amount of furniture, books, and other items in the building. All the significant memorabilia, such as trophies and banners, have been removed.”


With his back to the camera is Anthony Manuel, l-r, Claude Powers, Eunice Trotter, and Ed Torrez of arda Architecture Restoration Design, architect for the Black Heritage Preservation Program. Powers is helping with the content management planning stage.

In breakout sessions, the public gave feedback on 3 design concepts/plans that re-imagine spaces for housing, retail, restaurants, recreation, performances and more to fill the school’s interiors. In each session, attendees were given a set of stickers they could apply to elements they liked in each design.

The primary use in Design 1 is the Gary School of Culinary Arts. Design plans for the culinary school show a cooking studio, kitchen, classrooms and administrative offices on the ground floor.

The culinary school will be duplicating the culinary arts program at the Gary Career Center was the feedback.

Design 1 included a music and performing arts school, boutique hotel, apartments, community classes, auditorium, retail and restaurant storefronts, wellness clinic and pharmacy, gym and pool facilities.

In Design 2, the primary use is a Senior Residential Housing Facility.

For some, that purpose was too limited. It should be more inclusive, they said. “It should represent the energy and vibrancy that was at Roosevelt. I don’t see senior housing reflecting that,” one said.

Design 2 included a wellness clinic and pharmacy, recreation center and pool, auditorium, cafeteria and kitchen, a business center and a library.

The primary use in Design 3 is the Gary, Indiana History Museum. Add the Gary Sports Hall of Fame and the Gary Civil Rights Museum were suggestions.

“Our reimagining Gary Roosevelt session last weekend generated some excellent suggestions for use of the site. Our goal was to listen to the people. The attendance and input of Gary residents show us how important this site is to the people of Gary. Our plan is to have additional community engagement sessions open to the public but targeting other stakeholders,” Trotter said.

The challenge now is bringing the mechanicals up to date, Trotter said. “We all know the boiler system failure is what caused the school to close. We are now fighting against time to bring life back to the building. Empty buildings deteriorate quickly.”


Ingrid Fogle, l-r, Geneva Osawe, and Daisy Curtis decide which design elements they like

Story Posted:04/26/2025