By Bianca Shreeve, USCM Intern
November 21, 2005

The city of Gary (IN) ushered in a new phase of economic development September 28 with the opening of the County Market, the first grocery store to open in Gary in over thirty years. Gary Mayor Scott L. King, County Market owner Jim Hatchett and many other Gary residents held a ribbon-cutting ceremony for the store’s spirited grand opening. The market is part of a new 25-acre retail complex that will also include restaurants, shops, a movie theatre and bank.

“We welcome County Market to the city of Gary,” King stated. “This store will provide much needed jobs and shopping opportunities for our community. Now our residents can spend their hard earned dollars in a high quality market that will spur other economic development within the city.”

For the past thirty years, Gary residents have had to drive almost ten miles outside city limits to reach the nearest grocery store. The new 55,000 square-foot County Market is now easily accessible to city residents and ideally located near the interstate on one of the city’s busiest intersections. The market currently employs 260 residents of Gary’s Empowerment Zone, has been open approximately one month, and has already stimulated growth in the local economy with new establishments opening up in the surrounding area. As a testament to the store’s importance to the city’s renaissance, the inside walls are ringed with large, historic, black and white photos of dignitaries visiting Gary, from John F. Kennedy to Michael Jackson.

The County Market in Gary is owned and managed by Jim Hatchett, a Gary native with a long history of retail management. Hatchett spent a great deal of time training new employees on product knowledge and good customer service.

The Gary, East Chicago, Hammond (GECH) Empowerment Zone, working closely with King, made the County Market Plaza a reality. The GECH Empowerment Zone is one of fifteen Round II Empowerment Zones across the country, federally designated to revitalize depressed areas and boost local economies. The GECH Empowerment Zone supports public/private partnerships and encourages member cities to cooperate in the development of projects that benefit the entire region. The Gary County Market is a perfect example of this strategy, with all three cities collectively approving its construction.

The development was funded with $6.3 million in Empowerment Zone bonds, $2 million in Empowerment Zone loans and private investments from local banks and other organizations. King was instrumental in negotiating city tax incentives and acquiring the property for the development of the County Market, formerly an underutilized park.