The Dorie Miller Homes will reportedly be demolished after the Gary Housing Authority (GHA) received an $8.6 million grant on December 23 from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD).
Located at 1722 E. 21st Ave., the Dorie Miller Homes is a 291-unit complex that has been half vacant for years. There are reportedly 20 families that still live there.
Taryl Bonds, deputy executive director for the GHA, said in news reports that in addition to the Dorie Miller Homes, two other complexes will be demolished. They include the 268-unit Delaney Community East, on Harrison Street near the shuttered Roosevelt College and Career Academy and Gary Manor, a 24-unit complex at 11th Avenue and Madison Street.
The GHA in 2010 reportedly demolished with federal funding the 316-unit Ivanhoe Gardens, 3200 W. 11th Ave. In 2016, the GHA demolished the 227-unit Delaney West complex at 21st Avenue and Pierce Street and seven buildings at Concord Village, 5001 W. 19th Ave.
Bonds did not respond to an email and voicemail message Wednesday before Crusader press time for its print edition.
The GHA is one of the three public housing agencies that were awarded over $34 million to address emergencies that threaten residents’ health and safety, as well as to help secure the public housing properties against crime and drug-related activity.
The New York City Housing Authority received $24.7 million and the Alexander County Housing Authority, in Cairo, Illinois, got $1.27 million, according to a HUD release.
“Home hazards can manifest without warning,” said HUD Secretary Ben Carson in a statement. “Because health and housing go hand in hand, it’s important to address these unexpected problems. Today’s grants are a tool for public housing agencies to make capital improvements so that all residents have a safe and secure place to call home.”
“These grants will go a long way to helping the families that HUD serves,” said Assistant Secretary Hunter Kurtz. “They’ll help these PHAs deal with the issues that impact their residents.”
HUD said its Capital Fund Emergency Disaster and Safety and Security Program supports public housing authorities as they address emergency and/or disaster conditions that threaten public housing residents’ health and safety.
Officials at HUD also said its program addresses threats that pose a risk to the safety and security of residents due to criminal activity, including but not limited to drug-related activity within the public housing community.
Capital needs requiring such correction HUD said, that are examples of emergency, could include elevator failure, boiler failure, water intrusion causing mold growth, sewer line failure, severe electrical problems, lead-based paint hazards, carbon monoxide and radon hazards, local building code violations, and safety and security needs.
Examples of emergency capital needs requiring measures to address safety and security include, but are not limited to, security lighting, alarm systems, and fencing.
