Gary Mayor Calls for Demolition of Shuttered Schools

Photo courtesy of John J. Watkins/ The Times

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Ten closed school buildings in Gary could be up for demolition as early as March 5. Our partners at The Times of Northwest Indiana report Mayor Jerome Prince’s administration wants the Gary Community School Corp. to destroy the buildings, citing Indiana’s Unsafe Building Law.

The law, as adopted by the Gary Common Council, requires property owners to tear down unsafe buildings if they are determined to be “blighted.” Prince told the publication his building commissioner, Kenneth Williams, will set up a hearing in February on the issue. 

If the hearing finds the 10 schools to be unsafe, the school corporation will be legally required to demolish the buildings by March 5, according to Prince.

 The 10 schools considered to be blighted include:

• Norton
• Emerson
• Horace Mann
• Lew Wallace
• Edison
• Ernie Pyle
• George Carver
• Nobel
• Spaulding
• Brunswick

To read the full story from The Times of Northwest Indiana, click here.