Gary officials outline multi‑project investment plan, say residents can access jobs

Councilman Dwayne Hallebertton and redevelopment staff used a Feb. 25 Second District community meeting to describe a string of large development projects and urged residents to pursue the jobs and property opportunities those projects will create.

Chris Harris, deputy director of redevelopment, said the city is seeing several large investments. "There's going to be a $3 billion investment into US Steel Gary Works. And there will be a thousand jobs added to US Steel Gary Works," Harris said, and added that the city is also working with Indiana Sugars on a new 500,000‑square‑foot facility in Buffington Harbor. He said a FedEx tenant buildout across the street is a roughly 317,000‑square‑foot facility and that the project is expected to bring about 600 jobs in the coming years.

Why it matters: Officials said the combination of industrial projects, a planned Lake County Convention Center adjacent to the Hard Rock Casino and ongoing blight removal will generate direct construction, operations and indirect jobs—options they said should be filled by Gary residents when possible.

Harris noted that these projects are at different stages: some buildings are already vertical, some firms are preparing interior build‑outs, and the city is conducting demolition "blitzes" to remove roughly 60 structures as part of neighborhood cleanup and redevelopment efforts. "This is our third blight blitz… we focused two rounds in Etna. Now we've expanded our operations into neighborhoods outside of the Etna neighborhood," Harris said.

Councilman Kenneth Wizzington and others urged residents to use the redevelopment website's interactive property map to identify city‑owned parcels that can be acquired through the city's processes. Wizzington also highlighted homeowner assistance programs, including down‑payment assistance of up to $10,000 and a 1% down program through a local bank partner.

The meeting also included an announcement about homelessness services: Harris said the city has cobbled ARPA and Community Development Block Grant dollars and a donated pre‑engineered structure to support a roughly $3 million relocation and repair of Brothers Keeper men's shelter from 21st & Broadway to 22nd & Washington.

What remains unresolved: Officials described general funding sources and program eligibility but did not present formal council votes or binding contract awards at the meeting. Harris directed residents with questions about specific parcels to email redevelopment@gary.gov for staff review and next steps.

Next steps: Staff encouraged residents to sign up for redevelopment notices, apply to adjacent‑lot programs if they live next to city parcels, and contact workforce partners and the economic development office to be placed into job pipelines when hiring begins.