After various comments against a new development at the shuttered Alfred Beckman Middle School, the Gary Plan Commission gave the project an unfavorable opinion on its rezoning before it moves to the city council.
The six present plan commission members were unanimously against the proposal. Alan Harrell was absent from Thursday afternoon’s meeting.
According to plan commission documents, the petitioner, Indiana Investment Properties, asked to rezone the middle school, located at 1430 W. 23rd Ave.,
from R2 residential to a planned unit development, or PUD, and B3-1, which allows for shopping centers or large stores.
Carl Heitman, president of Heitman Architects, said Thursday that the project would comply with M1 zoning, which is for limited manufacturing uses.
The project would be located on Grant Street, which was chosen for its proximity to Interstate 80/94. Documents call the proposed project a “commercial business planned development” that will focus on manufacturing.
Multiple concerned citizens have called the proposed project a trucking facility, but both Heitman and Jim Wieser, attorney for the project, said it is not a trucking facility. The business will have trucks and need to be near a trucking route, which is why they chose the Grant Street location.
“The fact of the matter is that Grant Street is a designated truck route in the city of Gary and has been for many years,” Wieser said during Thursday’s meeting. “This location, if you look at it from an economic development perspective, is incredibly well-suited for the purpose we’re petitioning.”
Corrie Sharp, primary contact for the Gary Rezoning department, said staff gave an unfavorable recommendation of the project, saying it was uncharacteristic for the area, which is close to single-family homes and small businesses.
Public commenters on Thursday afternoon agreed with the staff recommendation.
Terri Martin, a Gary resident who lives near the proposed development, said neighbors in the area are frustrated with the process for this project. She said they were told a community meeting would be held on Feb. 5 to learn more about the project, but it was canceled without them knowing.
“It’s all about the money versus how the people feel and how we’re going to reside in that community,” Martin said. “We don’t want this. This is a neighborhood, this is our neighborhood.”
Another meeting has not yet been scheduled.
Residents want an opportunity to talk with developers about other potential uses for the area, Martin said. The school was closed in 2005.
David King, a Chicago resident and Gary native, said he’s worked on several plans in Chicago and Cook County. King’s worried about developments like this in neighborhoods.
“People’s voices need to be heard,” he said. “Gary’s going to lose its sense of community.”
Dorreen Carey and Carolyn McCrady, both members of Gary Advocates for Responsible Development, said they’re concerned about the potential project and how it might impact the area’s residents.
Carey, who is the advocacy group’s president, said the city should want to attract more residents, but that can’t be done if zoning in residential areas is changed.
“We need more residents, we want to attract more residents,” Carey said. “We’re likely to get more residents when we have our downtown developed, when we have our Broadway plan.”
McCrady said she felt that the developer believes Gary residents are desperate and can’t get what they want in the community. It’s not guaranteed that the project will happen, McCrady said, which is also why she opposes the rezoning.
“We’re really tired of hearing that,” she said. “We’re counting on board members to not allow this project to go forward.”
Councilman Darren Washington, D-at large, also spoke against the potential project. Community zoning is the way it is for a reason, Washington said, so he opposes the project.
After the meeting, Washington said he believes the developer would be a good corporate partner for the city, but it needs to look at other areas in the community. He didn’t have anywhere specific in mind but said it shouldn’t be “so deep in the community.”
Once the developer works with city leadership and has a new location, Washington wants to give the project a favorable opinion.
“As a city, we have about 8,000-plus properties we own,” Washington said. “I believe working together … is needed in the community.”
Following the vote, commission Vice President Taryl Bonds said the development seems like something that could benefit the city, but it’s in the wrong location.
He encouraged developers to reschedule a meeting for residents.
“It is something the city could benefit from,” Bonds said. “We would hate to see it go. … It just probably needs to be placed (somewhere) else.”
