George M. Howard Jr., right, talks with Khalilah and Mike Johnson, about rehabbing a house in Gary's Glen Park section on Saturday. Howard gave the couple the house he bought on a Lake County tax sale.(Carole Carlson / Post-Tribune)
Public comment on the web
The Gary Community School Corp. is accepting public comment on the offers until March 19. They can be sent to Properties@Garycsc.k12.in.us, or via social media.
A self-made real estate entrepreneur wants to transform the shuttered Wirt-Emerson school into what he calls a cooperative commercial center for small businesses.
George Howard Jr., 44, who owns G.M. Financial Corp., offered $1.8 million for the former visual and performing arts school in the city’s Miller section, in the latest round of bids on vacant Gary schools.
“We did the research and we thought nobody would bid one-quarter of the value,” he said. Howard said Wirt would appraise for about $10 million.
Out of more than 70 bids placed on 24 school properties, Howard’s bid for Wirt-Emerson, at 210 N. Grand Blvd., was by far the highest. The next highest bid was $391,000 for Wirt, from Solid Rock Church. The city of Gary offered $1, plus the cost of demolition.
“If we can give a portion back to the Gary schools, it’s a win for me and the school system,” said Howard on his high bid.
The son of a minister and a minister himself, Howard said he earns money by buying Gary properties at tax sales and flipping them. He said he’s bought more than 100 properties and turned the business into a prosperous venture.
Howard said if he wins the bid award, he has until March 25 to make a down payment and another 30 days to pay off the price in full. Howard said he’s confident he can secure a loan for the purchase.
“I’ve always wanted to do something to spur economic growth, I think Gary is ready to take off,” he said. “There’s no reason for the city to be in the position it’s in. We have to fix it from the inside.”
Howard said he will likely partner with an unnamed Indianapolis firm at the Wirt-Emerson site.
He said the site would be available for residents hoping to start their own business, but need low start-up costs. He said he would rent the gymnasium for events, as well as the auditorium.
Howard said he also holds seminars in Chicago to teach potential real estate holders how to buy tax sale properties.
Participants view the properties being sold, select two, and they’re driven by the homes to review their conditions.
On Saturday, he turned the keys on a multiple-unit house on West 43rd Avenue to Mike and Khalilah Johnson, a Baltimore couple who attended a seminar.
“I prayed about it. God put them in my heart,” Howard said of the Johnsons. Howard gave them the house that he picked up at a sheriff’s sale and offered renovation tips during a brief tour.
“We learned about his investment program from friends,” said Khalilah Johnson. “We came to the conference and it was amazing, it was full of so much education.”
She said while the couple was impressed, they weren’t ready to buy yet. “This put us in gear, it’s an amazing blessing.”
The couple said they will return to Gary to oversee the renovation work with help from Howard.
“We’ll be doing our own hands-on,” she said.
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