A newly completed strip mall in Gary’s Miller section encapsulates what it means to be both a community business and a business built by a community.
Church and city dignitaries were on hand Tuesday to celebrate the ribbon cutting for Harvest Square Mall, an eight-store complex adjacent to the Beyond 4 Walls Christian Center at 875 S. Lake St. The second phase of the church’s growing empire, the mall was completely funded by parishioners, its pastor, the Rev. Maurice White Jr., said.
White got the idea to turn around the vacant land perpendicular to the church around the time of COVID-19, he said, and when he presented it to his flock, they wanted to chip in what they could nearly immediately. He invested their money for a time, so when he went to break ground on the project two years ago, they were able to drop a cool $1.4 million on it initially, he said.
The overall cost ended up somewhere in the $2 million range, White said, but the project is 100% self-made. If it sounds like there’s an immense amount of pressure on White and his wife, the Rev. Elisia White, though, there’s no need to worry about them.
“We did this with no grants, no solicitations for money,” White said. “If we did this project because of what other people wanted, there would be pressure, but we did this because of the word of God,” White said. “We’re just going to sit back (with our parishioners) and watch the result.”
Among the new businesses are a sandwich shop, Wrap Game; a Jerk-n-Go; breakfast place Top of the Morning; Harold’s Chicken and Fish; Shugga Shack, home of the “Chicago Hoagie;” a Beggar’s Pizza franchise; and BLAST Laundromat, which features machines that text you when your laundry’s done. The eighth business, New Age Bakery, announced it’s moving in during the ceremony.
Its owner, No’val Alexander, told the crowd to be prepared to be reintroduced to a lot of old classics from another Gary institution lost to the sands of time.
“We all used to get our baked goods from Glen Park Bakery. It’s been gone a long time, but now, it’s coming back,” he said to applause.
Gardena, California-based Bishop Noel Jones, the event’s keynote speaker, said churches can no longer ignore things like education and infrastructure. Therefore, it’s up to parents through their churches to expose their children to as many positive influences as possible so they can discover their strengths.
“The church has always been a receiver, but now, we have one that’s giving,” Jones said. “(Pastor White) and the city are committed.”
Gary Mayor Eddie Melton pointed out the $600 million South Shore Double Track project as being the catalyst for bringing reinvestment to the city. Greater Gary Chamber of Commerce CEO Chuck Hughes agreed.
“Between this project and all the development that’s gone in and around Fresh County Market (on Arthur Street), it’s just a wonderful continuation of new development,” Hughes said. “These are the types of businesses that let us know that people inside and out are taking notice of what we have.”
Beyond 4 Walls parishioner and former Gary School Board member Barbara Leek said if people knew the stories and all the hard work that went into getting Harvest Square finished, they’d be amazed.
“There were so many obstacles and even resistance from the community, so seeing this come to fruition is amazing,” she said. “For example, there was no bakery in Gary before, but now there is.”
Michelle L. Quinn is a freelance reporter for the Post-Tribune.
