A group of Aetna neighborhood residents want to bring a “retirement resort” to Gary, and they already have the support of one city official.
“It’s definitely possible,” said Councilwoman Lori Latham, D-1st, who represents the Aetna area. “There’s no clear way to get it done … but that doesn’t mean that we stop. It is possible.”
The Aetna Manor Revitalization Program hosted a community conversation Thursday night at Gary’s Miracle Temple Church to explain their plans. The group hopes to turn the former Aetna Elementary School into a retirement facility and community hub.
Penelope Love is founder and chair of the Aetna Manor Revitalization Program, and the group wants to see updates to the area.
Love said, in midsummer 2025, she had the idea for a retirement community after talking with a friend from elementary school, who considered relocating from Gary for a “low maintenance, high efficiency community.” After the conversation, Love said she began thinking about what a retirement community could look like on the grounds of the vacant Aetna Elementary School.
“I began calling some other friends, family and acquaintances to pitch the idea,” Love said, adding that she also talked with city officials to get their thoughts and ask for help.
At the time, Love said Aetna school was not included in Gary’s comprehensive plan, which she believes was because the city did not own the property when creating the former comprehensive plan. According to Post-Tribune archives, the city of Gary bought Aetna Elementary School in late 2020 from the Gary Community School Corporation.
The school corporation asked for $648,500 for Aetna Elementary, reducing the price from about $1.8 million, according to Post-Tribune archives.
Aetna is included in the city’s updated comprehensive plan, according to Gary documents. The city lists the site as 10 acres and located near a neighborhood with the business and industrial uses to the south “separated and buffered by the interstate.”
The city’s comprehensive plan recommends the bottom half of the Aetna elementary site to stay as dune conservation “to help with the buffer between the neighborhood and the interstate.” The site’s top half is recommended to be single family homes.
However, Latham told residents Thursday that she doesn’t think the group will have issues getting the land from the city. Community members agreed Thursday that they should share their plans with the city to help with demolition, and then go from there.
Latham has been supportive of the group’s ideas since the beginning, Love said. She also believes that the former school’s new zoning recommendation makes it easier for a retirement community to come to the area.
Love and other members of the Aetna community have supported the city’s other efforts in the area.
According to Post-Tribune archives, in November, the first newly constructed single-family home was completed in Aetna for the first time in decades. The single family structure is part of 15 planned homes that will feature ranch-style and two-story options, modern amenities and new construction.
The four bedroom, three bathroom house located at 5544 E. 10th Ave. sold on May 27 for $263,000, according to Zillow. The home was originally listed for $265,000 in November.
The home construction is part of Gary’s efforts to remove blighted structures, and in March 2025, the city began a second phase of Aetna demolition, according to Post-Tribune archives.
Gary Mayor Eddie Melton previously said that the Aetna neighborhood offers many opportunities for residents and future homeowners, including proximity to the South Shore Line’s Miller train station, a Gary Public Transportation Corporation route and major highways, including Interstates 65, 94, 90 and 80.
Latham told Thursday’s attendees that she thinks it’s important for the city to focus on development if they’re worried about blight elimination.
“While securing empty buildings, it is essential to protect neighborhood and community safety,” Latham said. “We also want to make sure we have money, and we’re putting our money into our streets, and we’re putting out money in growth and things people are using.”
