Gary seeks to use data to help rid city of blighted property

GARY, Ind. (AP) - The Gary City Council is considering authorizing a temporary loan from its casino revenues fund to put together information on blighted property, hoping that will make it easier to acquire additional grant money for demolitions or redevelopment.

The Times of Munster reports (http://bit.ly/1aIk2c9 ) the city also plans to use assistance through a Technical Assistance Scholarship Program administered by the nonprofit Center for Community Progress for the project. Gary was one of four communities in the nation to receive support through the program.

The organization supports communities acquiring problem properties and later transferring or selling them to new owners to be used in a way consistent with a community-based plan.

"That is one thing that we would like to explore," said Joseph van Dyk, Gary's redevelopment director.

But van Dyk said Indiana does not have statewide legislation in place allowing for such a program like Michigan and Ohio have.

Tarik Abdelazim, associate director of national technical assistance at the Center for Community Progress, said while the costs to fix problems involving blight are often steep, "many communities have come to recognize that the greatest costs come from simply doing nothing."

He said in addition to land banks there are "many innovative practices and successes to point to across the country. None are cheap or easy, and no government can tackle this challenge alone."

Van Dyk said the short-term answer for the city is compiling data on all the properties and creating a detailed map.

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Information from: The Times, http://www.thetimesonline.com