Gary council sends Beckman School PUD back to planning committee after hours of public comment

The Gary Common Council on April 1 withdrew a motion to adopt CPO 2025‑17, a proposed planned unit development (PUD) to redevelop the former Beckman School site, and unanimously referred the petition back to the Planning & Development Committee for further review and conditions.

The measure, introduced as CPO 2025‑17 and sponsored by the zoning department, would have rezoned the site to allow a mixed light‑industrial, wholesale, distribution and office complex the petitioner called the 20th & Grant Commerce Center. The council voted 9–0 to withdraw the immediate vote and to send the proposal back to committee with a planning committee meeting set for April 8 at 5:30 p.m. and a public hearing scheduled for April 15 at 6:00 p.m.

The Planning and Zoning Department and the plan commission had recommended against the PUD after reviewing the petition at their Feb. 20 meeting. Corey Sharp, senior planner with the City of Gary Planning and Zoning Department, told the council the plan commission’s unfavorable recommendation rested on five principal concerns: the site’s immediate proximity to single‑family homes, absence of an…