At its Tuesday meeting, the Gary Common Council unanimously approved a public hearing for the sale of a property formerly owned by the Gary Urban Enterprise Association.
A public hearing for the sale of 304 E. 6th Ave. will be held at 6 p.m. Monday after Councilman Darren Washington, D-At Large, motioned for it. Council members Mary Brown, D-3rd, and Mark Spencer, D-At Large, were absent.
The Gary Redevelopment Commission has approved a purchase agreement for the property, which is located near Buffington Park. A public hearing must be held before the sale can proceed.
GUEA was created in 1985 to redevelop the city’s Emerson neighborhood. The group was funded through business contributions, including from U.S. Steel.
The association was disbanded in 2006 after several key GUEA officials were convicted of embezzling about $1 million in a scheme that included renovating properties and renting or selling them to family and friends for free or below market costs, according to Post-Tribune archives.
Properties were transferred to the city’s redevelopment commission in 2007. GUEA owned 631 properties that were all transferred to the commission.
In 2021, Gary officials planned to move forward with releasing the first batch of properties. The Jerome Prince Administration sponsored the approval of transferring 542 remaining properties.
A request for the bid at 304 E. 6th Ave. was made in April, according to the RDC’s website, with a minimum sale price of $5,000. A bid had to be accepted by 4 p.m. April 17, according to online records.
As of Wednesday morning, a bid amount was not included in the RDC’s online records. Christopher Harris, the commission’s executive director, was unavailable to immediately comment.
Post-Tribune archives contributed.
