Gary close to sale of Genesis Center

Tech firm has agreed to $2.5 million purchase

The city of Gary is on track to close on the sale of the Genesis Convention Center to Akyumen Industries, the firm that plans to locate what has been billed as the first American made 5G tablet, cellphone and smart device manufacturing center.

Eric Reaves, executive director of community investment and chairman of the city’s economic development commission, said the closing is expected to take place Wednesday pending any unexpected last-minute delays.

Akyumen has agreed to purchase the Genesis Center for $2.5 million with $150,000 due on closing. The remainder must be paid within 180 days or the property reverts back to the city, Reaves said.

The company plans to use the facility as a corporate headquarters and temporary manufacturing site while its factory at the northwest corner of 11th Avenue and Chase Street is built. The company paid $50,000 for the property and plans to build a 150,000-square-foot facility on the more than 27 acres at 3100 to 3134 West 11th Ave., that used to be home to the Ivanhoe Gardens housing development.

As part of the deal, the company plans to hire about 300 workers in the first year and as many as 2,500 workers by the second and third years. Akyumen expects the project will also mean about 300 construction jobs, according to city documents.

Aasim Saied, CEO of Akuymen, said in a recent interview the company would be using the location to begin filling the orders it has in hand for its smart technology devices while the factory site is being built. Plans at the Genesis Center also call for reconfiguring the parking area around the building. He said the company plans to keep the auditorium space and plans to host different events at the site.

Reaves said the site will not have to go before the city council for a zoning change because it already is zoned for manufacturing and has been since 1957.

He said zoning for the site was thoroughly researched before the sales.

“Any deals we are doing we try to cover all the bases to ensure more or less there are no encumbrances to building so it’s shovelready for developers,” Reaves said.

Councilman William Godwin, D-1st, questioned how the property could have gone all these decades without a zoning change.