For the Gary Library Board, the bottom line is they can no longer afford to maintain the building that once served as the W.E.B. DuBois branch library.
The structure was closed to the public last year when the Main Library building at 200 W. 5th Ave., was re-opened, and library board President Tyrell Anderson said the vacant building at 19th Avenue and Broadway is costing about $8,000 a month in maintenance costs.
Anderson said the cost has been justified to date on the grounds that they want the building and property in Gary’s Midtown neighborhood to retain enough value that it can attract a buyer.
So far, however, no prospective buyer has come forth. An attempt last year to get grants to convert the facility into a tech center were unsuccessful, which is what inspired the library board to conduct a hearing Monday to give the public a chance to offer up ideas.
Suggestions ranging from a technology school, an incubator that could offer office space and amenities to small businesses and a museum were offered.
Gary resident Marva Coleman suggested of an African-American museum to be named after her late husband, Ben Coleman, inspiring enough interest that library board members asked her to do more research on the idea.
But Freddy Louis McMillon, the library board’s controller, said there’s a problem with such ideas. He said many appear to be proposed with the idea that the library board would continue to maintain the property, which he said would be in violation of laws limiting the board’s mission solely to maintaining a library.
“We have to get rid of the building,” McMillon said. “We cannot afford that building. We need to find a buyer for the building as soon as possible.”
Anderson said the building technically is not for sale right now. “If it were, we’d be referring everybody to a Realtor,” he said, adding that the long-term goal is to sell the structure to a worthy buyer.
He cited the one-time Brunswick branch at 4030 W. 5th Ave., which the library board was able to sell to the Gary Middle College, a school affiliated with the 21st Century Charter School in Gary.
“We got a very fair price for that building, and if we handle this situation properly, we can do just as well with the DuBois building,” Anderson said.
Among those speaking before the library board was Bishop Mitchell Armstrong, who said he thinks it is important that the board take care in deciding who to sell the property to.
“There are too many buildings (in Gary) that have been given over to people who then did nothing worthwhile with them,” he said.
Michael Tolbert, an attorney, said he thinks the library board needs to keep in mind that the eventual occupant needs to be a business entity that would create jobs in Gary, as well as add to the city’s tax base.
“The problems we face in Gary relate to the erosion of our tax base,” said Tolbert. “We don’t have the revenue because we don’t have enough businesses.
“Whatever we wind up putting in that space (the DuBois library building) needs to be something that will add to our tax base,” he said.
Gregory Tejeda is a freelance reporter for the Post-Tribune.
