Gary Regains Control of Housing Authority
File photo of Gary City Hall. (photo courtesy of The Times of Northwest Indiana)
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As a subscriber you can listen to articles at work, in the car, or while you work out. Subscribe NowThe city of Gary is poised to regain control of its own housing authority eight years after the federal government seized administrative operations for what was described as “chronic poor performance.”
Our partners at The Times of Northwest Indiana report the Gary Housing Authority is transitioning back to local control after meeting improvement standards.
The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development took over in August 2013 to get the local housing authority back on track. At the time, officials said the partnership was created to improve financial management, conditions, and occupancy rates at the city’s public housing.
“The Gary Housing Authority has made significant progress over the past several years,” HUD Secretary Marcia Fudge said in a news release.
HUD says the public housing agency is no longer considered “troubled,” but is now described by federal regulators as having achieved a “high performer designation” for the city’s housing choice voucher program.
HUD says 2013 it has provided GHA with nearly $12 million in special grants for demolition and rehabilitation of housing.
With those funds, the city has demolished more than 400 blighted units at six sites and has granted permission to knock down 600 more at four other housing authority properties.