On Monday (July 22), the University of Notre Dame School of Architecture’s Housing and Community Regeneration Initiative and the city of Gary, Indiana, launched the first phase of a downtown revitalization project. City officials highlighted Gary’s rich history and expressed their enthusiasm for this promising new partnership with Notre Dame.

“This partnership is a unique opportunity to create a new master plan for our great city. We’re excited to begin this work with the support of a world-class institution like Notre Dame,” said Eddie Melton, mayor of Gary.

The partnership will begin with a series of community listening sessions followed by a weeklong public urban planning session, conducted by the Housing and Community Regeneration Initiative. This process, known as a Dean’s Charrette, will result in a proposed vision for the next 100 years, and a 10-year action plan for the rebuilding and revitalization of downtown Gary.

Marianne Cusato, a professor in the School of Architecture, is the director of the Housing and Community Regeneration Initiative.

“It’s an honor to collaborate with Mayor Melton, his team and the residents of Gary to help facilitate a conversation about the future of the city,” she said. “Our initiative works closely with cities throughout the region to assess the conditions, listen to community aspirations and balance fiscal realities to develop an inclusive and equitable vision for the built environment.”

The Housing and Community Regeneration Initiative began in 2021 and has conducted seven charrettes throughout northern Indiana and southwest Michigan. Through its 100-Mile Coalition, it seeks to partner with communities within a 100-mile radius of the University of Notre Dame to guide leadership and community members, share knowledge and assist with community development efforts.

“The process that we have honed through partnerships with La Porte, Kalamazoo and Elkhart, among other communities, allows us to inspire a plan to bring opportunities to Gary that have been unrealized until now by listening to community members and leadership, then translating the needs into a prioritized, actionable set of steps toward them,” said Stefanos Polyzoides, the Francis and Kathleen Rooney Dean of the Notre Dame School of Architecture.

Chris Harris, Gary’s director of redevelopment, called the partnership with Notre Dame a “once-in-a-generation opportunity” for the city.

“Today, we start the work of rebuilding and maximizing the potential of our downtown. Our goal is to ultimately attract new businesses and talent to invest, live and work within our urban core. Residents will benefit from a concentration of amenities that are unmatched in the region: a safe, walkable downtown with quality public spaces, offering multimodal transportation, with easy access to Chicago and Indiana Dunes National Park,” he said.

The scope of work of the collaboration includes developing a vision and implementation plan for the regeneration of downtown Gary, creating a set of design standards for the Broadway corridor, developing a series of design templates for workforce housing units and commercial spaces and developing a concept design for the new intermodal transit facility.

Melton said, “Thanks to the passage of Indiana SB 434 in 2023, we have been able to jump-start downtown Gary’s revitalization with $12 million of blight elimination. Moving forward, we want to make sure that we are very intentional about what we decide to rebuild. This partnership will equip our community with tools to envision a sustainable plan for development that brings opportunities for businesses and residents to thrive in the heart of downtown.”

Cusato said the ultimate goal for the collaboration is to create a vibrant downtown where current residents of Gary are active stakeholders in the city’s future, and new residents and investors are drawn to call Gary home.

“Achieving this goal starts by designing a built environment that inspires a pride of place, creates economic opportunities and offers safe and attainable housing options,” she said.

Media Contacts:

Carrie Gates, University of Notre Dame associate director of media relations, c.gates@nd.edu, 574-993-9220

Erika Blackwell, City of Gary Chief Communications Officer, eblackwell@gary.gov, 219-292-1251