Owners of 7247–49 Indianapolis Blvd. say repairs are underway; council schedules May 14 status hearing

The Hammond City Council on a routine agenda item heard updates from counsel and the owners of 7247–49 Indianapolis Boulevard, a property previously subject to a demolition order under the Unsafe Building Act.

Scott Borstein, counsel for L2 Equities Hammond LLC, told the board that the company acquired the site last year and has been working through licensing and winter-weather delays. "We are moving forward," Borstein said, adding that some citation language in the inspection report was imprecise: "In the citation ... there's a citation relating to stucco needing repair. There is no stucco on the building."

Owner representative Joe Janikovsky said interior clearing, painting, asbestos abatement and tuck-pointing work have been completed or are nearing completion, and that the team has applied to NIPSCO for utility service. "We've made full application with NIPSCO. We've been told it could take upwards of six weeks," Janikovsky said, adding his attorney had warned of a possible strike that could delay service further.

Inspections staff recapped the property's history, telling the council that an earlier demolition order from 2024 had been rescinded when new owners represented there would be rehabilitation but that recent lapses in activity prompted a new unsafe-building filing. The city's inspector advised that some exterior repair descriptions in the citation were meant to capture mortar and tuck-pointing issues rather than stucco or retaining walls.

A council member emphasized the site's visibility and proximity to the university, calling it an "eyesore" that the city wants to see returned to active use. Without a completed utility connection or final inspections, the council did not rescind the new enforcement action; instead it set a status hearing. The board approved a motion to set the matter for a status update on May 14, 2026, at 9:00 a.m.

What happens next: The owners were asked to provide an updated timeline and, if possible, attend the May 14 status hearing in person or by Zoom. The council reserved the option to revisit enforcement if progress stalls.