After a proposal was sent back to committee, Gary Common Council members heard updates and public comment about a development planned for the shuttered Alfred Beckman Middle School site.
The council’s planning and development committee, on Tuesday, hosted a meeting and public hearing about the proposal. Eight council members were present for the hearing, with acting President Lori Latham, D-1st, absent.
The meeting allowed potential developers and a representative from the city zoning department to present changes made to the proposal, which originally received an unfavorable opinion from both the Gary Plan Commission and zoning staff.
Residents also could express their opinions during public comment.
Indiana Investment Properties, the petitioner, asked to rezone the former middle school, 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.
Heitman Architects, an Illinois-based developer, would create a “commercial business planned development” that will focus on manufacturing, according to project documents.
Gary residents have called the proposed development a truck stop, which developers and council members said is not the case.
Corrie Sharp, primary contact for the Gary Zoning department, met with the developers to address project concerns, including building height and traffic in the area.
Sharp and developers were encouraged to meet before the planning and development meeting.
With the updated ordinance, a new timeline for the potential project was included, with demolition happening within eight months, development must be commenced within 18 months, and the primary structure must be completed within three years of the ordinance passage.
The updated ordinance also addressed traffic concerns, saying trucks must enter and exit off 22nd Avenue and leave 23rd Avenue open for car access. Updates also add more landscaping and fencing to the proposed development, Sharp said.
The building height will not exceed 50 feet, Sharp said, and a secondary structure’s height cannot exceed 22 ½ feet.
Jim Wieser, the proposed project’s attorney, supported changes made to the proposal.
“I believe that we’ve responded as best we can,” he said. “In my own opinion, there possibly may be a few minor changes to make, but they’re not substantive.”
Even with changes, various residents expressed concerns for the project at Tuesday’s meeting, calling for better vetting of the developer and ensuring they will hire Gary residents to work at the facility.
“We’ve had bad, disastrous and sometimes even scandalous results when we don’t seriously vet those who want to come to Gary without saying what we want to hear, mainly jobs and revenue,” said resident Carolyn McCrady.
McCrady opposes the development because it will bring manufacturing and trucking to a neighborhood that doesn’t want it, she said Tuesday.
Resident Jennie Rudderham also advocated for more vetting with the project, and she’s worried that the city will accept a developer who doesn’t have a proven successful track record.
The project is also lacking community input, Rudderham told council members. Various residents have expressed concerns after developers canceled a community meeting on Feb. 5 without residents knowledge, and another meeting has not yet been scheduled.
“(Community input) hasn’t happened here,” Rudderham said. “(Neighbors) are so frustrated, and there are lifelong residents who really deserved more of a voice in this process.”
Gary Lee, a resident who lives near the proposed development, called the new proposal a “sales pitch” and expressed concerns with who will work at the development if built.
“They said (this will create) 250 jobs,” Lee said. “But if we accept that number, those 250 jobs are going to be commuters, not residents in the city of Gary.”
At a previous Gary council meeting, multiple members said they wanted to support the project and needed more information. Councilwoman Mary Brown, D-3rd, and Councilman Kenneth Whisenton, D-at large, said the proposed development would help create more tax revenue within the city.
“I think it is (the responsibility) of the council to find or support those kinds of businesses that will bring revenue into the city,” Brown said. “We talked about not being able to pay departments enough … We can’t pay them if we don’t get tax revenues.”
Councilman Dwight Williams, D-6th, previously said the city needs more businesses to ensure youth will stay in the city, allowing them more opportunities for jobs.
The council is expected to vote on the proposal at its next meeting, 6 p.m. Tuesday.
Post-Tribune archives contributed.
