Volunteer demolition crews and waste haulers at work in the 500 block of Harrison for Gary's Citywide Blight Blitz

Blight removal intends to get families back in Gary's neighborhoods

Contributed By: The 411 News

Gary has 7,000 parcels it wants to sell.

Some are empty lots and some contain abandoned residential and small commercial structures.

Monday morning, in downtown Gary was the kickoff of the city’s 3rd blight elimination initiative. An initiative that got its start in the Aetna neighborhood, during the 1st year of the Melton administration in 2024, resulting in the demolition of nearly 80 abandoned residential structures.

“This demolition blitz is doing more than removing eyesores; it is resetting the foundation of our neighborhoods,” said Mayor Eddie Melton at the press conference. “By clearing these blighted lots, we are removing safety hazards and signaling to residents and investors that Gary is ready for new growth.”

Mayor Melton announced this year’s citywide blight elimination will target 60 structures in 5 neighborhoods – Downtown Gary, Emerson, Glen Park, Midtown and on Gary’s west side.

While snow and high winds forced the press conference into Holy Angels Catholic Church, work had started in the 500 and 600 blocks of Harrison Street with volunteer demolition crews and waste haulers from the Lake County Highway Department, Rieth-Riley Construction, Hasse Construction, C. Lee Construction, Superior Construction, Biesen Excavating, Macallister Equipment, R&D Construction, and Z-Force Transportation.

Compared to blight removal in Aetna, a worker said it will take longer to complete the demolition and removal of debris on abandoned structures in downtown Gary. Residential structures downtown may have 2 stories, an attic and a basement. In Aetna, the homes were only 1 story and built on slabs.

Demolition of 574 Harrison, a 2-story structure with a basement, was one of 5 downtown eyesores removed Monday.

A few doors down, a Coldwell Banker Realty sign was in the front yard at the rehabbed 552 Harrison Street, evidence of Melton’s words that ‘Gary is ready for growth.’ The Lake County Assessor’s website said the single-family home was constructed in 1919.


A Coldwell Banker Realty sign was in the front yard at the rehabbed 552 Harrison Street

Blight elimination is the task of Gary’s Zoning and Redevelopment departments. Chris Harris, Redevelopment Director said demolitions in Aetna had cleared the way for the construction of 15 new homes.

Harris and Corrie Sharp, Zoning Director, discussed the city’s blight elimination strategies on WLTH Radio Tuesday morning. The city is using Indiana’s Unsafe Buildings laws to acquire and demolish some abandoned properties. And the same laws can be applied to property owners who fail to maintain their buildings, Harris said.

In Aetna, he said, some homeowners fixed up their properties when faced with losing them due to violations of the unsafe building laws.

“We’ve identified over 2300 structures that are eligible for demolition under Indiana's unsafe building law,” Harris said.

Now, the city has a new legislative tool to sell the properties it owns. As the demolition in downtown was kicking off, SB 232 -- authored by State Senator Mark Spencer (D-Gary) – gained approval in the Indiana House and on its way to the governor for his signature.

Sharp said SB 232 eliminates the financial barrier for the city to sell properties. “The current law requires the city to purchase two appraisals per property in order to offer it to a buyer. It costs us basically $1,000 per parcel. Well, we have 7,000 parcels; that's $7 million.”

Spencer’s bill allows the city to use a new formula. For the next 3 years, the city will purchase 10 residential appraisals and 10 appraisals for small commercial properties each year. The average of the residential appraisals will set the city’s offering price for the sale of residential properties.

In the same manner, the average of the commercial appraisals will set the offering price for small commercial properties.

SB 232 also prohibits an employee or appointed or elected official of the city from purchasing property that is appraised by the city’s appraiser.

Sharp said the purchaser will be legally bound by a clawback clause in the sale agreement. “If in 24 months, we don't see momentum and they're not purchasing building permits and hiring contractors, then we'll have that property automatically revert back to us.”

For the City of Gary, blight elimination is intended to get families into its neighborhoods again.

Story Posted:02/25/2026