Abandoned building demolition plan on track in Gary

By Michael Gonzalez Special to the Tribune November 16, 2014 4:14PM

Tucked in a row of abandoned houses, the house at 832 Tennessee St., in the city's Emerson neighborhood, is scheduled for demolition this week. The project will be paid for with money from the federally funded Hardest Hit program. | Michael Gonzalez/fr Sun-Times Media

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Updated: November 17, 2014 2:00AM

GARY- A multi-million dollar demolition project is on schedule, said the city official heading the charge to rid the city of abandoned buildings.

Redevelopment Director Joseph Van Dyk also said his demolition team has hired a Chicago firm and a politically connected local attorney to move the project along.

The demolition team is working with a $6.6 million grant from the U.S. Treasury Department, funneled through the State of Indiana, to tear down up to 500 structures throughout the city.

So far, about a dozen homes in the Emerson and Aetna areas have been torn down, with more on the way as state officials finalize their reporting mechanisms and other administrative details, Van Dyk said.

Its a new program, and a lot of the reason we have to hurry up and wait is the state is figuring out the reporting mechanism and other administrative details, Van Dyk said. Were ready to roll with tearing down more when we get the OK from the state

Part of the challenge is getting clean titles to the properties the city wants to raze, he said. To that end, Van Dyk said his team has hired Kevin Smith, of Smith Sersic LLC, in Munster, to get those properties from county tax sales.

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Abandoned building demolition plan on track in Gary