A recommendation to hire Zenith Tech to construct the Port of Green Bay development site key to relocating the coal piles will head to the Brown County Board later this month.
The county’s Planning Development & Transportation Committee on Tuesday, Dec. 2 unanimously voted to award a $44,192,880.62 contract for the job to Waukesha- and Rothschild-based Zenith.
County officials in mid-November learned base bids came in under $50 million for the complex job to convert a 37-acre former power plant site into port terminal space for C. Reiss Co. salt storage and another port tenant.
Dean Haen, the port’s director, told the committee the bid results were “quite favorable” and allowed the county to contract not only for the base project, but also all nine optional jobs the county could pick and choose to add based on the overall costs.
The recommended award does not include additional project costs related to engineering work and ample contingency funding that increase the project potential total cost to $57.3 million.
Haen said the county currently has $57.4 million in local, state and federal funding for the project.
Here’s what to know.
What does this Port of Green Bay site have to do with moving the coal piles?
Construction of the port development site on the former Pulliam site will create space for C. Reiss Co. to store salt currently held at the Fox River Terminals site at 1400 Bylsby Ave. The construction project will also create additional space for another tenant to lease.
C. Reiss would then relocate coal storage from its longtime home at 111 W. Mason St. to the Fox River Terminals site. The existing coal piles would likely be drawn down and new coal deliveries would go to the Fox River Terminals site. The existing coal piles site in the central city would be redeveloped jointly by C. Reiss and the City of Green Bay.
The county and C. Reiss continue negotiations to finalize a lease for 16 acres of the site based on the 10-point plan both parties approved in June.
Breaking down Zenith Tech’s total bid
How did contractors’ total bids for the Port of Green Bay development project compare?
Here’s the total project cost bids for each of the five contractors:
Other project costs include engineering, contingency funds
Based on Zenith Tech’s bid, the total project cost would be about $57.3 million.
That includes $3.5 million for engineering and other costs and a 20% contingency for any potential cost overruns or unexpected conditions in the ground or Fox River. Based on Zenith Tech’s bid, the contingency budget would be almost $10 million.
Haen called the 20% contingency “more realistic” based on the complex dynamics of the project.
Most of contractors’ cost-saving proposals proved unfeasible
Each of the five contractors along with their bids submitted “value engineering” proposals that would tweak project plans in order to reduce the overall costs. Engineers and port officials accepted six of the 15 proposals that could have reduced the project cost from zero dollars to $4 million.
Each contractor’s accepted proposals reduced their overall bid totals. Here are the accepted proposals and the expected cost reduction:
Zenith Tech proposed all three.
Many of the proposals were declined due logistical, risk and feasibility concerns. Two contractors proposed alternative dock wall designs that would have saved $150,000 to $4 million, but one didn’t meet strength requirements or the other would have increased material costs elsewhere.
What’s next?
The county’s Harbor Commission will consider a bid recommendation when it meets at 10:30 a.m. Dec. 8.
The Brown County Board of Supervisors is expected to consider the committees’ recommendations and vote on an award when it meets at 6 p.m. Wednesday, Dec. 17.
If approved, port and county officials would work to finalize the contract terms in early 2026.
Contact business reporter Jeff Bollier at (920) 431-8387 or jbollier@usatodayco.com. Follow him on X at @JeffBollier.
This article originally appeared on Green Bay Press-Gazette: ‘Favorable’ bids let more projects join coal piles relocation funding
Reporting by Jeff Bollier, Green Bay Press-Gazette / Green Bay Press-Gazette
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