Highlights a milestone in the city’s neighborhood stabilization plans
A press conference was held Friday morning in Gary at 5544 E. 10th Avenue to highlight a milestone in the city’s neighborhood stabilization plans.
Mayor Eddie Melton and city officials had gathered to showcase the Aetna neighborhood’s first newly constructed single-family home in decades.
Nearly completed is a 2-story, 2,000 sq ft home that the mayor said “is the first of 15 new homes that will bring new families and new energies to Aetna.”
In 2024, year one of the Melton administration, Aetna was identified as the first place to began revitalization and reclaim its history as a neighborhood of affordable housing.
A team of demolition contractors eradicated 35 blighted residential structures in 2024. This year, 20 were slated for demolition.
Mayor Melton said, “Next year, there won’t be any blighted properties in Aetna.”
Gary’s Redevelopment Department is fulfilling the task of finding developers to fill the empty lots.
Soon after the 2024 demolitions, Redevelopment issued an RFP seeking developers to construct homes that fit with the neighborhood’s current characteristics. The demolished homes sat on slab foundations with a lot size of 55 feet wide and 120 feet depth.
In June 2024, the Redevelopment Commission selected the proposal from the F&L Group and Square Foot Developers to construct 15 homes in Aetna. The F&L Group is Frederick Long and Laneé Nicole, real estate brokers with Better Homes and Gardens Real Estate Connections. David Sutor heads Square Foot Developers, builder of the homes.
The 15 planned homes will include both ranch-style and two-story models. All properties will be built on slab foundations without basements, with ranch homes offering approximately 1,400 square feet starting in the $220s, and two-story homes providing approximately 2,000 square feet starting in the $260s.
The 2-story model has 4 bedrooms and 2 baths; the ranch model has 3 bedrooms and 2 baths.
“This project is about building opportunity,” said Laneé Nicole, team lead for the F&L Group. “As real estate professionals with a deep connection to Gary, we saw the urgent need for new homes that deliver quality housing at an affordable price. This project answers that need.”
“Plans and permits have been submitted to start construction on 2 more new homes on 10th Avenue. Everybody’s waiting for me to give them the thumbs up,” Sutor said. “After that, we’ll get started on 3 lots across the street.”
Andrew Moore was doing lawn work on his home at 5518 E. 10th Avenue during the press conference. He’s only a few doors away from the home he grew up in, still owned by his mother. Moore said he, his mother and others he know have purchased multiple properties in Aetna.
“I’m happy to see it; it looks good. The only thing we had been seeing was decay and the neighborhood going down,” Moore said. “Maybe the next time you come out here, I might be the person that buys it.”