The City of Green Bay could channel up to $1.3 million to support the plan to build affordable housing and a new Green Bay Metro Fire headquarters on South Broadway.
The city’s Redevelopment Authority on Tuesday, April 14 approved two loans and authorized a request to apply for a state grant that could end up directing $1.3 million to General Capital Group’s 85-unit Fire Station Flats development. The majority of the funding would cover the developers’ costs to address the remaining site contamination on the former Badger Sheet Metal factory in the 400 block of South Broadway.
But some of the funds would help close an estimated $1.4 million budget gap in the $31.1 million development budget.
General Capital hopes to start construction on the apartment development this summer.
Contaminated soil largely removed from future Green Bay Metro Fire headquarters, housing site, but some still remains
Soil studies found polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) associated with petroleum products, arsenic and lead contamination on the longtime industrial property at 420 S. Broadway.
The Green Bay City Council in June 2025 approved a $1.25 million demolition and site cleanup contract for the site. The bulk of the project was paid for with a $1 million U.S. Environmental Protection Agency brownfields cleanup grant and removed 13,600 tons of contaminated soil plus underground tanks and asbestos.
Contractors largely cleared the site, but some PAHs and metals remain in the soil and General Capital will have to address as it constructs Fire Station Flats. A proposed plan estimated to cost $960,000 would remove remaining heavily contaminated soils and re-use the rest as fill on the construction site. The apartment building, fire station and parking lots would serve as a cap that ensures the little contamination left would not be disturbed.
The option proposed was chosen because it was the most cost-effective method that meets state requirements for site cleanups.
What loans and grants did Fire Station Flats get?
Here are the two loans approved and the state grant the Redevelopment Authority endorsed General Capital applying for:
EPA Brownfield Revolving Loan Fund: The board approved a $794,541 loan at a 2% interest rate to be repaid over 20 years on a flexible basis as Fire Station Flats has cash available. The loan will fund the majority of General Capital’s site environmental cleanup costs.
Large Scale Affordable Housing Development Loan: The city-run program will provide $250,000 to help close the $1.4 million project budget gap. General Capital will close the rest of the gap by deferring its developer fees and costs. The loan would include a 2% interest rate and would be repaid over 20 years.
WEDC Community Development Investment Grant: The board authorized General Capital to apply for a $250,000 Community Development Investment Grant from the Wisconsin Economic Development Corp.
The Redevelopment Authority awarded another $54,400 contract to Stantec for professional services related to the design of a greenway on the site’s south end designed to handle stormwater.
What to know about the Fire Station Flats affordable housing development
Fire Station Flats would include 85 apartments, a first-floor community space and retail space in a five-story building located along South Broadway and Arndt Street.
General Capital plans to secure 4% low-income housing tax credits from the Wisconsin Housing and Economic Development Authority to help finance the project.
Under the tax credit terms, 11 of the 85 apartments will be set aside for households that earn less than 30% of the area’s median income. The remaining 74 units will be set aside for households that earn between 31% and 80% of the median income.
How we got here
Here’s how efforts to redevelop the Badger Sheet Metal site have evolved since the city first bought the blighted property in 2018. The site was identified as a key redevelopment opportunity in the Shipyard Neighborhood Investment Strategy written to guide neighborhood investment in the area around The Shipyard park being developed along the Fox River.
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: Green Bay approves $1.3M to construct Fire Station Flats, clean up site
Reporting by Jeff Bollier, Green Bay Press-Gazette / Green Bay Press-Gazette
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