City and redevelopment staff detailed plans for a large renovation of the Renaissance Towers during Mayor's Night Out, describing the project as Indiana's largest affordable-housing redevelopment.
The mayor said the project represents "a $27,000,000 investment in the Renaissance Towers," located in Hammond's Second District, covering roughly 450 units with more than $50,000 reinvested per unit. The mayor added the city worked out a pilot agreement with the developer to receive the city's portion of property tax payments for 20 years under the terms being negotiated.
Residents asked whether HUD or Section 8 tenants would be displaced during renovations. Redevelopment staff (Ann Taylor) said the project is being managed by the purchaser/developer and that renovations will be staged so that each unit will take about a week to renovate; tenants will be able to use a common area during daytime work and return to their units at night. "So they will not be displaced during the renovation," Ann Taylor said.
Residents raised ancillary quality-of-life concerns including bus service reductions and broken laundromat equipment; staff encouraged individual follow-up through constituent services to ensure tenant needs are addressed during the renovation.
No sale closing date was given publicly; the mayor and redevelopment staff said the transaction is expected to close either by the end of the year or by March 2026.