Gary Secures $1.1 Million to Demolish Long-Abandoned West Side School

Abandoned school buildings have been among the biggest thorns in Gary’s side, standing as hulking reminders of decline.

While some buildings have been torn down, the scale of the problem has continued to grow faster than funding to address it.

Now, the city will use newly awarded congressional funding totaling $1.1 million to demolish the abandoned property that was once Ivanhoe Elementary School, which closed its doors to students in 2010. The demolition is part of the West Side Community Stabilization Project, and marks a significant infusion of federal dollars aimed at addressing one of the city’s most persistent sources of blight.

Neighborhood residents have voiced their frustration for years about the abandoned property at 15th Avenue and Gerry Street, at times raising concerns directly with city leaders.  

Robert Wallace, who lives across the street from the former school, voiced his concern to Mayor Eddie Melton at a recent community forum.  

“You got kids going in there, getting high, having sexual relations, and the building has been on fire three times,” Wallace said.  

“If that building collapses on those kids, it will be a sad situation,” he added.

Melton said the $1.1 million allocation represents a significant increase over earlier cost projections and credited U.S. Rep. Frank Mrvan with refusing to let the project “fall through the cracks” despite what he described as a long battle to secure the funding.

He said the added resources will allow the city to move beyond temporary fixes and fully address long-standing concerns tied to the site.

“This additional funding ensures we have the resources necessary to fully tackle this dangerous eyesore, removing blight that has plagued the neighborhood for years and opening the door for revitalization,” Melton said.

Mrvan, who secured the funding through a fiscal 2026 Transportation, Housing and Urban Development Community Project Funding request, said the Ivanhoe demolition is an important step toward change in the surrounding neighborhood.

“This investment helps local leaders do what they are already committed to doing by clearing blight, stabilizing neighborhoods, and putting land and buildings back to use,” he said. “When we rebuild housing and commercial corridors, we strengthen communities and restore local pride.”

“This victory is especially significant for the West Side,” Melton said of the funding. “We didn’t just hold the line on funding for the demolition of the former Ivanhoe Elementary School — we secured $1.1 million, a substantial increase over original projections.

“This additional funding ensures we have the resources necessary to fully tackle this dangerous eyesore, removing blight that has plagued the neighborhood for years and opening the door for revitalization.”

The Ivanhoe demolition follows the city’s teardown of Norton Elementary School in 2024, a project that cost nearly $750,000 and left the former school site as a cleared lot. City officials have cited that demolition as a step toward reducing safety concerns tied to long-vacant school properties.

The demolition also aligns with Gary’s newly adopted land use plan, which classifies schools as “destination” sites alongside parks, civic buildings, and other public institutions. During recent discussions, city planning staff said those properties and spaces are intended to serve civic functions.

With abandoned school buildings, officials said, demolition can be a necessary first step toward bringing those sites back into alignment with the city’s long-term development goals, whether through reuse, redevelopment, or new community-serving uses.

“Over the next couple of months, we will be meeting with different community groups to break down each zone,” said Sylvia Martin, the city’s zoning administrator. “We, as a community, will create something unique and dynamic to the city of Gary.”

Excluding West Side Leadership Academy, all former public schools on the city’s far West Side — Ivanhoe Elementary, Brunswick Elementary, and Edison Middle School — have been without students for nearly two decades.

In the Brunswick neighborhood, the Edison property was acquired by Djuric Trucking in 2021.