MIDDLE MARKET HIGHLIGHT, AUGUST 2007

Green Bay, Wisconsin
Dan Marcec

The city of Green Bay serves northeast Wisconsin as a regional hub thanks to a solid transportation infrastructure that includes rail, interstate and deep port access. With a low cost of living and low unemployment rates, and due to a varied assortment of industries, the community is seeing the expansion of a skilled and educated population. While the manufacturing industry has traditionally dominated the economic landscape, the service, healthcare and insurance sectors are becoming major players.

Recently, according to Jennifer Brown, deputy director of economic development for the City of Green Bay Economic Development, the region has experienced a surge in paper converting companies and related industries such as printing and packaging.

“The area’s history in the paper industry has established a solid foundation and has become an incubator for growth for aspiring entrepreneurs that were once employees of the larger paper mills,” Brown says. “These innovative and technologically advanced companies are growing consistently and adding quality jobs to the local economy.”

The area’s healthcare industry also has been growing rapidly. With Green Bay serving northeast Wisconsin as well as Michigan’s Upper Peninsula, the workforce in that industry is constantly growing and improving as more medical facilities are developed. 

Focusing on these and other industries, the economic development team is looking to catalyze an assortment of developments, and the type of product depends on which area of the city is being discussed. In the downtown district, there is an initiative to incorporate the Fox River waterfront into the plan of many developments. “As downtown evolves into an urban live/work/play environment, it is essential for the city and economic development team to bring in developments that support residential and commercial uses,” Brown says.

The 1,100-acre University Heights Commerce Center is Green Bay’s newest business park. Located on the northeast side of the city, University Heights is zoned for mixed-use, including space planned for commercial and light manufacturing. Currently, most of the land is owned privately and is expected to be constructed as office or commercial. The city owns 120 acres of land within the park that is zoned for light manufacturing, which is being marketed aggressively to small and mid-sized local companies, as well as regional businesses interested in expansion.

On the east side of Green Bay, the availability of expansive tracts of land for residential and commercial use is spurring new development. At the same time, redevelopment is a popular trend throughout the city, on both the east and west sides. The most recent revitalization endeavor is located on Military Avenue, where the city declared a TIF district to redevelop the commercial corridor feeding into the city.

Astor Place, a $33.2 million, 17-story condominium tower located along the Fox River in Green Bay, is set to break ground this fall.

Though there are many projects online, three major ventures being developed along the waterfront are creating a lot of excitement: Astor Place, a 17-story, $33.2 million mixed-use/condominium building, is expected to break ground this fall; the mixed-use River Center project — which includes rental lofts, condos, retail and office space, as well as the new Children’s Museum — is set to break ground on its $23 million first phase soon; and the Stone House development, a 65-unit, $10 million rental loft project is underway, as well.

In addition, slightly set back from the river, a 22-acre former canning factory has been purchased by On Broadway, a non-profit redevelopment group focusing on downtown Green Bay. On Broadway has established the site as a TIF district, and now is redeveloping it into an urban live/work/play site. “These developments are certain to change the landscape of the city’s downtown, and to make urban residential living here accessible and trendy,” Brown says.

Further outside the downtown district, the I-43 Business Center has also seen considerable development, changing the east side’s commercial landscape. With more than 90 businesses located on its 820 acres, 4,000 jobs have been created since its inception. There is still opportunity for growth in the park, as undeveloped land remains. The BayCare Medical Center is set to begin construction soon, and should be completed in 2008.

“The growth and success of the I-43 Business Center has validated the increasing values of real estate within and around it,” Brown explains. “Businesses such as a state-of-the-art hospital, paper converters and even a movie theater serve both the city of Green Bay and all of Brown County.”


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