Gary Got Rid Of An Eyesore Hotel -- Now What?
(CBS) – For years, it was the poster child of big city blight: Gary's former Sheraton hotel.
Now that the building -- in recent years, empty and falling apart -- has been demolished, what's next?
CBS 2's Brad Edwards reports on a White House task force meeting to help figure out the site's future.
If there were ever a structure that spoke of a place's promise and peril, it was the Gary Sheraton.
For years it dogged the skyline. Its first incarnation, in 1968, was as a 300-room, 14-story gem. The beautifully appointed rooms, in another incarnation, went for $30 a night.
More recently, it cost $1.2 million to raze.
Among the ideas for a replacement, Mayor Karen Freeman-Wilson says, are a community garden; a "splash pad" and ice rink; an outdoor theater; and a walking path.
The goal is for something to happen in six to 12 months. The lot is city-owned now, and the mayor says it would take an extraordinary plan with full financing for Gary to sell the property.
For images of the Sheraton before it was completely cleared, visit Christopher Allen's Flickr page.
