Construction could start by early 2027 on the $32.4 million mixed-use redevelopment that would transform a surface parking lot into almost 170 units of workforce housing.
The Green Bay City Council on May 5 approved terms with La Crosse-based Three Sixty Real Estate Solutions to convert the lot in the 200 block of North Monroe Avenue into 168 workforce housing units and first-floor commercial space. The three-phase development will continue into the early 2030s and ultimately create an estimated $18.5 million in new assessed property value.
Workforce housing, also called missing middle housing, refers to housing units that people who earn 80% to 120% of the area’s median income, currently about $77,000 in Brown County, can afford to rent. The Green Bay area needs about 10,000 homes and 5,000 rentals those households can afford to keep up with projected demand, according to the city’s 2025 housing market study update.
It has taken the city seven years to secure an agreement for the former Associated Bank parking lot, though it’s not been for lack of trying.
The city paid $1.2 million for the lot in 2019 and since then multiple developers have tried to make a variety of mixed-use development plans work. But they have run into a variety of challenges and difficulties that include the COVID-19 pandemic, rising construction costs, rising financing costs, inability to win affordable housing tax credits and the site’s contaminated soil.
Here’s what to know.
What downtown Green Bay parking lot are we talking about?
The surface parking lot occupies a full block just north of the U.S. Post Office and east of the Brown County Central Library. The 2.5-acre lot, which consists of six parcels, is bounded by Pine Street to the north, Quincy Street to the east, Cherry Street to the south and Monroe Avenue to the west.
Associated Bank owned and used the parking lot until the City of Green Bay bought it for $1.2 million in 2019. The site has long been viewed as a bridge between downtown Green Bay and the Whitney Park neighborhood.
Development plans start with cleanup of contaminated soil
Three Sixty expects it will cost $2.5 million to $3 million to remove contaminated soil, but doing so enables the company to include underground parking and to more easily finance the development. Here’s a look at the breakdown of the $32.4 million plan.
Developers will pay $1.2M for site over time and Green Bay will provide up to $6.3M in financial assistance
The development agreement lays out financial incentives, purchase terms and a minimum valuation for the new development. Here are the highlights:
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 greenlights $32.4M plan to build 168 apartments in downtown
Reporting by Jeff Bollier, Green Bay Press-Gazette / Green Bay Press-Gazette
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