Gary, IN is 49 square miles and is occupied by 15 main neighborhoods.

While each neighborhood has its pros and cons I have seven of these neighborhoods on my radar to shine as pillars in the city. So without further ado, let’s get to the top seven neighborhoods on my radar for Gary, Indiana. This is entirely an opinion piece and should be taken with a grain of salt as the future is unknown.

Runner ups

This was a hard list to create, so before all of the keyboard warriors begin, there was one neighborhood that was anxiety to not include, and it was indeed the historic Midtown neighborhood. Midtown has been progressing well and has a large share of local businesses and blight restoration. The reason it was not included was due to not seeing it on the news as much compared to all of the other neighborhoods. Midtown is also home to the J’s Breakfast club.  I do not know if it is in the first phases of restoration and revitalization for Gary 3.0. I could be wrong, but I do hope I’m wrong and Midtown get a Chick-Fil-A, Van Tils and beyond.

It also pained me to not give Small Farms it’s props. With all of the recent renovations in the area and of course Country Fresh Market, Brown Skin Coffee, Popcorn World, its proximity to the I80/I94 expressway and more. If this was a top 10 list, it for sure would’ve made the list.

#1 – Miller

Miller has always had a key advantage in my mind. It being the lake front neighborhood for the entire city has many perks. When traveling down the historic lake street you can feel like its residents and business owners have put a lot of work into stabilizing and beautifying this neighborhood.  I’m no realtor, but I’m sure if you ask them, they will say Miller is the ‘location, location, location.’.

#2 Downtown

Downtown is home to the historic city hall, library, Genesis convention center and plenty of local exhibits. With all of the newly gained funding for blight removal one has to put downtown on the list. Besides thinking in terms of demolition there are huge hopes that downtown Gary will receive new construction, homes and businesses remodels as well as new events. Downtown being home to the minor league RailCats baseball team was also alone to make it make this list.  Decay Devils are still actively at work with getting the old Union Station restored and open for business. Downtown is home to many unique structures and landmarks, and I believe is key to the city being appealing to all to visit on a weekend adventure.

#3 Aetna

Aetna recently was the recipient of community funded blight removal. It being close to Miller and its proximity to the State Route 20 and the highway makes it optimal for families.  Aetna is close to Miller K-Market and Lake Station to the South. It seems like only good things will be in store for this neighborhood.

#4 Westside

Westside is home to Gary’s public high school. It is also home to many of Gary’s industrial and intermodal businesses. It is also a considerably short drive from the Gary/Chicago airport. It borders the Black Oak neighborhood as well as Hammond, IN. Westside is a key neighborhood to keep an eye out for future and ongoing developments.

#5 Ambridge Mann

#6 Black Oak

Black Oak probably sees the most ‘tourists’ per day via the Hard Rock Casino.  A quick look on airbnb, one can see that Black Oak appears to be second place in terms of the number of local rentals in the area. New blight removal projects can only be expected to begin here after downtown Gary. Black Oak may also be the recipient of a new convention center if approved. I can expect as more and more funds come from the casino, more of the neighborhood will change. Black Oak residents also are granted admission to the Calumet school district if I recalled correctly.

#7 Glen Park

Lastly is Glen Park. Glen Park is also known as University Park due to it being home to Indiana University Northwest. It once was home to J’s Breakfast Club, before it relocated to a new location in Midtown. J’s location was quickly replaced with D and K soulfood catering. The university has given this neighborhood a distinct edge. The former Golf Course is prime real estate for future development. Its neighbors being Black Oak, Calumet Township, Hobart, Midtown, Lake Station, Merrillville, Pulaski and Small Farms each end of this neighborhood is likely to improve and thus lead to it being improved.  Besides the outside influencers the businesses down Ridge Rd and Broadway St will probably only grow and foster many new experiences. I will be keeping my eye out on the Gleason Park Pavillion for updates. Lastly, Grant Street has had many new business improvements and is home to ‘The Village’ shopping center in which I feel maybe restored. Glen Park is quite a large neighborhood so change here will either be well coordinated or sprinkled.

Thank you for reading through my predictions. Gary is on the rise and if I could scrap together some pennies and nickels, I would be definitely purchasing in one of these seven neighborhoods.