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w w w . i n s i g h t o n b u s i n e s s . c o m A u g u s t 2 0 2 0 • I NSIGH T | 19 • PLACES continued GREEN BAY Drawing them in Downtown Green Bay home to two multi-use redevelopment projects MARINETTE FLORENCE OCONTO MENOMINEE SHAWANO WAUPACA OUTAGAMIE BROWN WINNEBAGO KEWAUNEE DOOR MANITOWOC CALUMET WAUSHARA MARQUETTE GREEN LAKE FOND DU LAC SHEBOYGAN Sitting along the Fox River in downtown Green Bay, the Shipyard area was once the epicenter for transporting raw materials either on the water or rails. rough the years, the 13.6-acre area was vacated and eventually labeled a brownfield. e City of Green Bay is now in the process of transforming the Shipyard into a place for people to live, work and play between the river and South Broadway. Initially, Breakthrough planned to use the development's north end for its new headquarters, but it changed course. at opened the door to Merge Urban Development, which plans to build a $21 million mixed-use development with 225 apartment units on the waterfront. Construction could begin next year. "Originally, they wanted to be part of the Rail Yard Innovation District, but we ran out of room, so when the Breakthrough deal didn't move ahead, I reached out to them and right away they were on board," says Kevin Vonck, development director for the City of Green Bay. e south end of the Shipyard will include multiple public spaces, including a great lawn for events such as concerts or individual and family activities, a beer garden, a playground, an urban beach and a container park. Right now, the city is putting in vital site infrastructure, Vonck says. B Y M A R Y B E T H M AT Z E K "ere were some infrastructure concerns, including flooding, so we are building a li station that will combat that worry," he says. e status of the Shipyard is where the Rail Yard Innovation District was several years ago, Vonck says. at 22-acre development contains commercial and retail spaces, restaurants and a variety of housing options — with only a few remaining spaces available. e site's former Larsen Canning warehouses were completely remodeled, with one building already at full capacity with businesses, retail shops and restaurants taking root, says Brian Johnson, executive director of On Broadway. e warehouse at the north side of the property is also filling up, he adds. e district caught a break when one of its anchors, Titletown Brewery, decided to not reopen its restaurant in the old railroad depot and rather chose to consolidate its operations at its other site aer Wisconsin's Safer at Home order expired in early May. Not long aer, another restaurant announced it was moving in. "We had some fear about how long the building would sit open, but now the e Depot Gastropub is moving in," Johnson says. Bringing more housing downtown was a goal for the district and one that it's delivering on, Johnson says. TWG Development has proposed constructing a five-story mixed-use building in the Rail Yard Innovation District (on the northeast corner of North Broadway and Kellogg Street.) The project would include 225 market- rate apartments and 7,000 square feet of retail space on the ground level. Developer TWG will soon finish its Broadway Los project on the north end of the Rail Yard and is already planning for a second development on the site, a building with 225 market-rate apartments. "As an organization, we knew we had to add housing units to our downtown," Johnson says. "Our initial goal was 200 housing units and we have surpassed that. e dense urban living in the downtown is important to have as you look to add different amenities." e response to the Rail Yard is just what the city was looking for, Vonck says. e development has "seen a lot of action and has great momentum." Beyond the Shipyard and Rail Yard, several other downtown housing developments are in various phases of completion, Vonck says. e transformation of the 1918 Whitney School into the Whitney Los and Townhomes is moving forward with 23 apartments complete and six of the 12 townhomes finished. Across from Whitney Park, the 20-unit apartment development at 901 Main Street opened earlier this year. "We've definitely been playing catch-up with housing," Vonck says. "ere's also a demand for different styles of housing, such as the townhomes." Turning to downtown businesses, Johnson admits many have been hit hard by the pandemic, and the organization canceled most of its events and is offering its farm market in a new space without some of its amenities, including live entertainment and arts and cras vendors. e city recently passed a rule that allows restaurants to build "parklots," which resemble decks or patios and are placed within two parking spaces on city streets. "is will allow restaurants to have more outdoor seating, which is something a lot want to have now," Johnson says. "e expanded space will allow the restaurants to serve more people since social distancing rules have taken away some of their interior tables." [continued ] » C I T Y O F G R E E N B AY