GARY, IND. – The City of Gary kicked off the first phase of its downtown revitalization project today, collaborating with the Notre Dame School of Architecture’s Housing and Community Regeneration Initiative. During a joint press conference, Mayor Eddie Melton and city officials expressed their excitement for this transformative partnership, highlighting the city’s rich history and the potential for a renewed future.
“This partnership is a unique opportunity to create a new master plan for our great city. We’re excited to begin this work with the support of a world-class educational institution like Notre Dame,” said Mayor Eddie Melton. “Thanks to the passage of Indiana SB 434 in 2023, we have been able to jump-start Downtown Gary’s revitalization with $12M of blight elimination. Moving forward, we want to make sure that we are very intentional about what we decide to rebuild. This partnership will equip our community with tools to envision a sustainable plan for development that brings opportunities for businesses and residents to thrive in the heart of downtown.”
The initiative will begin with community listening sessions and a weeklong public urban planning session, known as a Dean’s Charrette, conducted by the Notre Dame School of Architecture. This process aims to develop a proposed vision and action plan for the revitalization of downtown Gary.
“It’s an honor to collaborate with Mayor Melton, his team, and the residents of Gary to help facilitate a conversation about the future of the city,” said Marianne Cusato, director of the Housing and Community Regeneration Initiative. “Our Initiative works closely with cities throughout the region to assess the conditions, listen to community aspirations, and balance fiscal realities to develop an inclusive and equitable vision for the built environment.”
The Housing & Community Regeneration Initiative, established in 2021, has conducted seven charrettes in northern Indiana and southwest Michigan. Through its 100-Mile Coalition, the initiative partners with communities within a 100-mile radius of the University of Notre Dame to provide guidance, share knowledge, and support community development efforts.
Stefanos Polyzoides, Dean of the Notre Dame School of Architecture, emphasized the program’s effectiveness, stating, “The process that we have honed through partnerships with LaPorte, Kalamazoo, and Elkhart, among other communities, allows us to inspire a plan to bring opportunities to Gary that have been unrealized until now by listening to community members and leadership, then translating the needs into a prioritized, actionable set of steps toward them.”
Chris Harris, City of Gary Director of Redevelopment, described the collaboration as a “once-in-a-generation opportunity” for the city. “Today, we start the work of rebuilding and maximizing the potential of our downtown. Our goal is to ultimately attract new businesses and talent to invest, live, and work within our urban core. Residents will benefit from a concentration of amenities that are unmatched in the region: a safe, walkable downtown with quality public spaces, offering multimodal transportation, with easy access to Chicago and Indiana Dunes National Park.”
The partnership between Gary and Notre Dame began months before Mayor Melton took office, facilitated by City of Gary Corporation Counsel Carla Morgan, an alumna of the school. “I am proud to have helped bring my alma mater Notre Dame and its resources to Gary,” Morgan said. “Notre Dame’s School of Architecture is not only one of the top in the world, but its dedication to community is unmatched. I know that together, our teams will accomplish great things.”
The scope of the collaboration includes developing a vision and implementation plan for downtown Gary’s regeneration, creating design standards for the Broadway corridor, developing design templates for workforce housing and commercial spaces, and designing a new Intermodal Transit Facility.
Marianne Cusato, who will lead the charrette process, summarized the project’s overarching goal: “The ultimate goal for this collaboration is to create a vibrant downtown where current residents of Gary are active stakeholders in the city’s future. And, at the same time, new residents and investors are drawn to call Gary home. Achieving this goal starts by designing a built environment that inspires pride of place, creates economic opportunities, and offers safe and attainable housing options.”–News Desk