A suburban Cincinnati-based firm already involved with the development of the proposed Broadway Lofts development in Gary wants to buy 41 plots of land in the city and is offering to the city just over $200 per plot.
MVAH Holding LLC, located in Westchester, Ohio, submitted a bid to the Gary Redevelopment Commission to acquire title to the land. Redevelopment officials said Monday that MVAH was the sole bidder for the land and is offering $8,500 in total to acquire ownership.
An MVAH representative in Gary described the land in question as being “scattered” about the city, and also said that all of the plots were currently vacant.
The Redevelopment Commission accepted the MVAH bid and will have attorneys review it further.
The commission voted 4-0, with board member Marion Johnson absent, to approve a Project and Purchase Agreement with MVAH for the Broadway Lofts project being proposed in the area around 5th Avenue and Virginia Street; also referred to as the Emerson Opportunity Area.
The project intends to replace an impoverished part of Gary with a residential neighborhood with a strong sense of community.
Resident Jim Nowacki was bothered by the prospect of MVAH being able to purchase land for such a low price per plot.
He said he thinks that if the land plots were really worth only $200 or so apiece, the previous owners would have been able to maintain the property tax bills, and he doubts anybody else expressing interest in buying the land would be able to get such a low purchase price from the city.
“We’re taxing people right off their property,” Nowacki said. “You can see that all throughout (the) Emerson” neighborhood.
In other business, Redevelopment officials expressed confusion over a bid submitted by ENR, a Gary-based firm that was the only one to express interest in a contract to haul away debris from about a dozen sites in Gary where the Indiana National Guard will be helping the Redevelopment Commission in clearing away demolished building waste.
The firm submitted a bid offering to do the work at a rate of $140 per hour. Gilbert King, an attorney for the Redevelopment Commission, said a rate of $140 per load would make more sense.
Attorneys will check with the firm to see what their intent was in setting their price, with Van Dyk saying the project would have to be re-bid if the hourly rate was the intent.
Gregory Tejeda is a freelance reporter for the Post-Tribune.