Karen
Freeman-Wilson,
Gary, Ind.
Karen Freeman-Wilson has high hopes of revitalizing her hometown of Gary, Ind. And she’s been making great strides in attracting attention to its thousands of worn-out and abandoned buildings since she took office in January 2012.
Gary was granted $6.6 million from the U.S. Treasury’s Hardest Hit Fund to help with demolition on vacant and abandoned properties. Additionally, one of the larger affordable housing communities, Park Shore Commons, is undergoing a renovation to update the property.
The Indiana Office of Community and Rural Affairs also awarded the city $1 million to demolish decrepit commercial buildings, an abandoned hotel, and a structure once home to the Ambassador Apartments.
But the mayor’s No. 1 reason for wanting to clean up the housing is more than cosmetic—she wants her city to be safer.
“One of the things we saw this past year was the fact that an [alleged] serial killer was hiding bodies in these vacant buildings,” she says. “And we don’t want anyone else to take advantage, or to exploit the existence of vacant or abandoned buildings to engage in criminal activity.”
As a lifelong resident, Freeman-Wilson has been
dedicated in her efforts to rejuvenate the community. “This community has an
opportunity for improvement, and that’s what we focus on every day,” she says.
“I have a frame of reference a lot of younger people don’t have. Gary was once
the center of commerce for Indiana. Gary once was the center of cultural
activity in Northwest Indiana, and I believe we can return to that.”
