GARY — Mayor Karen Freeman-Wilson plans to ramp up efforts to banish blight next year by going after $30 million in state money to demolish a good portion of the city’s 8,500 abandoned structures.
In a prelude to her Feb. 20 State of the City speech, Freeman-Wilson shared her 2015 plans and 2014 accomplishments at Monday’s Greater Gary Chamber of Commerce luncheon at Majestic Star Casino.
Freeman-Wilson also publicly announced her intention to run for re-election, saying she plans to make a formal announcement soon and file “in a timely fashion.” The mayor stumbled in her bid to take control of the city’s Democratic precinct organization when she missed the filing deadline back in September.
The city’s rationale for more blight money is unconventional and could meet with GOP turbulence. Freeman-Wilson said the state isn’t using the $100 million in federal money targeted for foreclosure assistance because it doesn’t have as many as projected.
She encouraged Chamber members to call Gov. Mike Pence and state legislative leaders and encourage them to shift another $30 million from that pot to Gary to tear down abandoned buildings.
Last year, the city received $6.65 million in blight funding from the state. It hopes to demolish about 1,000 structures.
The decay and property devaluation that stems from abandoned buildings also creates more criminal opportunities, said Freeman-Wilson who explained why she pledged to demolish the long-vacant Sheraton Hotel on Broadway.
“You had an eyesore that stood 14 stories above all the historic structures and cast a shadow on all of downtown. It sent a message about what we thought about ourselves.”
Freeman-Wilson said the hotel’s $1.77 million demolition meant government does what it says it will. “It says downtown Gary is a place to invest in.”
Freeman-Wilson cited the Gary/Chicago International Airport’s runway expansion progress as the top accomplishment of the past year. The long-anticipated relocation of railroad tracks has been completed and she said it’s on target to open in June.
Freeman-Wilson said the city also paid down about $20 million in debt last year, including a long-standing tab owed to the Northwest Indiana Regional Development Authority.
And it concluded negotiations with Majestic Star Casino using $10 million in state and federal money to open a road to the casino from Cline Avenue.
Meanwhile, fighting crime will be a continued challenge in the coming year, said Freeman-Wilson who said she was attending a Cease Fire training Tuesday at the John Jay Criminal Justice Institute in New York.
The mayor said since new Police Chief Larry McKinley started in July that crime was down in every category. She said since that time, someone has been charged in about 80 percent of the violent crimes.