A recent 2026 Gap Report from the National Low Income Housing Coalition (NLIHC) has brought clarity and urgency to housing challenges across the United States. It offers the most up‑to‑date picture of the widening gap between what households earn and what housing costs, and the solutions now required.

On Monday, April 13 2026, Gary Townmakers hosted a workshop to share tools, maps, and research tips to help investors avoid buying parcels with legal and environmental challenges that can prove costly.

On March 9, 2026, Gary Townmakers hosted the first of two Let’s Transform Your Neighborhood  workshops from our GreenRoots Initiative. It was an evening that brought residents, local developers, environmental experts, and community partners together to deepen our shared understanding of brownfields, redevelopment, and the future we’re building in Gary. Click here to view the presentation document. This workshop was held in partnership with Jamie Zouras, Jenny Par, and Gillia

This LAB unpacked the steps required to safely buy, sell, inherit, or invest in a city where off‑market deals, heirs’ property, and environmental concerns are part of the landscape.

On a crisp December evening, the Gary Townmakers community gathered to tackle one of the city’s most significant opportunities: Vacant Land. If you missed the workshop, here is a breakdown of the strategies, tools, and pathways discussed to help you research, access, and redevelop parcels in Gary.

The City of Gary has officially released its September 2025 Comprehensive Plan Update , a roadmap designed to guide the city’s long-term transformation over the next decade. While building on the foundation of previous planning efforts, this update marks a pivotal shift in strategy. It moves beyond high-level visioning to offer concrete steps for stabilizing neighborhoods, growing the population, and building generational wealth . If you are wondering what is in the new plan

Part III of the November 14, 2025, GreenRoots Initiative workshop brought a deep dive into one of the most powerful tools available to anyone working with environmental history in Indiana.

...brownfield redevelopment is not abstract policy work. It’s a puzzle of land history, environmental risk, ownership patterns, and economic timing, and the region has tools to help communities navigate it.

On November 14, 2025, community members, local partners, and environmental professionals gathered for Part II of the GreenRoots Initiative, an immersive workshop series focused on identifying and researching the ecological and environmental histories of properties in Gary.

A November 4, 2025, Bloomberg article entitled, "Can Anyone Save Gary Indiana?", frames Gary’s revival around thoughtful growth, small-developer empowerment, adaptive reuse, narrative change, and community-rooted planning.

According to NIRPC’s NWI 2050+ housing plan, Northwest Indiana is projected to gain 115,000 new residents over the next 25 years, requiring 50,000 additional housing units across Lake, Porter, and LaPorte counties.  These priorities directly align with Gary’s current challenges and opportunities.

On May 3, 2022, StartUP Gary gathered community leaders, residents, and aspiring developers for a powerful session on Financing Incremental Development, a small-scale, community-led approach to neighborhood revitalization. The event served as both an education and a call-to-action: Gary’s comeback will not be handed to us; it will be built by us.