Fire station and housing development underway in Green Bay

GREEN BAY, Wis (WGBW) – The buildings at the former Badger Sheet Metal site are coming down. This week, Green Bay Mayor Eric Genrich and other community leaders kicked off the demolition, which will make way for a new fire station in Green Bay. 

State-of-the-art Fire Station

“We’re really looking forward to a new fire station and a new home for our fire administration,” said Green Bay Mayor Eric Genrich. “But in addition to that, we’re really excited to see some affordable housing take shape here.”

The development on South Broadway near the Shipyard District will transform a 5.25-acre brownfield site into a vibrant mixed-use development featuring a new Green Bay Metro Fire Station, 85 affordable housing units, and ground-floor retail space.

Something that Green Bay Metro Fire Chief Matthew Knott said is a long time coming.

“To say I am excited is an absolute understatement,” Knott said. “This is something that has been long overdue. This brings modern safety features, modern equipment, and things that make our firefighters’ work much easier and much safer in the long run. Very excited about this project!” 

The new fire station will consolidate the 97-year-old Fire Station 1 on Washington Street and the 88-year-old Fire Station 3 on Shawano Avenue. 

Affordable Housing

Council Member Brian Johnson, who represents the district where the new fire station will be located, said the addition of retail space and affordable housing is important and necessary for the downtown area.

“ When you think about the people that work in the downtown, whether they work at the restaurants, the retail units, or some of our other employers in this area, having accessible housing is important for those folks,” Johnson said. “So to be able to deliver 85 housing units to complement the other thousand units that are either under construction or contracted in the downtown area is going to continue to accelerate the number of people that live in this area. And it’s a core piece that we’ve been missing for a very long time.”

The 85 units are designated for households earning 30%, 60%, and 80% of the area median income. The apartments will range from one to three bedrooms, addressing the city’s critical housing shortage.

Community Impact and Investment

This development represents one of the largest public-private partnerships in Green Bay’s recent history. According to Matthew Buchanan, Deputy Development Director of the Department for Community and Economic Development in the City of Green Bay, the project is supported by a comprehensive funding package including $3.5 million from Brown County’s American Rescue Plan Act funds and $1 million from a federal EPA Brownfield Cleanup Grant. The development will create jobs during construction and provide long-term economic benefits through increased property tax revenue.

“This corridor, which is a link really between downtown and Lambeau Field, has suffered from decades of disinvestment, resulting in blight and brownfields,” Buchanan said. “But the city and Redevelopment Authority, really, did see the tremendous potential here.”

The demolition marks the beginning of an accelerated construction timeline driven by the need to utilize Brown County’s ARPA funding before the September 30, 2025, deadline. Construction is expected to begin in late 2025, with completion anticipated by 2027.