A newly built Dollar General just opened at 1301 Broadway in Gary s Midtown neighborhood, right next to a Family Dollar.
It s hardly the only spot in Northwest Indiana where dollar stores are crowded on top of each other. There s a half-mile stretch in Whiting with a Dollar General, Family Dollar and Dollar Tree all within a brisk walk of each other.
Dollar stores have been cropping up across Northwest Indiana in recent years, often planting roots in otherwise retail-starved cities and offering at least a limited selection of groceries in neighborhoods that have been deemed food deserts. Dollar store chains have been expanding in underserved rural and urban neighborhoods where other national retailers often fear to tread. Dollar General, for instance, took over a storefront Walgreens abandoned at 801 S. Lake St. in Gary a few years ago.
HOBART â Southlake Mall, the focal point of retail in the Region for nearly a half-century, is being managed by trustees and facing foreclosure in Israel, where owner Starwood Retail Partners owes $145 million in debt from a recent refinancing.
Now managed by Pacific Retail Capital Partners, the two-story mall at U.S. 30 and Mississippi Street has suffered from some major vacancies â such as the Carson s and Sears anchor stores after those department store chains went bankrupt. It has been operating with restricted hours since the coronavirus pandemic started.
More than 12,000 Hoosiers have died from COVID-19 since March 2020. There are real names, faces and human stories behind that staggering number. This Sunday, The Times partners with 11 Indiana news agencies to share the stories of dozens of âHoosiers Weâve Lostâ in a special print section and online presentation. Watch for it Sunday.