State Grants $500,000 For Port Of Green Bay Expansion

GREEN BAY, Wis. (WBAY) – Gov. Tony Evers has announced a $500,000 grant for Brown County for the Port of Green Bay expansion and movement of coal piles.

The Wisconsin Economic Development Corporation is granting the money to the county to help in purchasing the former WPS Pulliam Plant property.

The county intends to move the coal piles away from downtown in effort to expand economic activity at the port.

The port is a designated Foreign Trade Zone.

“Acquiring this property and addressing the remaining coal piles has long been an obstacle for folks in Brown County. This grant announcement today will help move the county, city, and Port of Green Bay forward,” said Gov. Evers. “Relocating the coal piles not only promotes new opportunities for the area to bolster economic activity, but will also improve the quality of life for many.”

The Idle Sites Redevelopment grant partially funds the purchase of the 40-acre parcel at the mouth of the Fox River.

“Over a decade ago, the city, county, and UW-Green Bay partnered to identify strategic objectives to advance the Port of Green Bay not only for our area, but the economy of northeastern Wisconsin,” says Brown County Executive Troy Streckenbach. “The Pulliam site is critical for that long-term strategy to come to fruition. We are very thankful for Governor Evers’ and Secretary [Missy] Hughes’ support by helping us close the gap for acquiring this strategic asset for future generations to come.”

The WPS plant was decommissioned in 2016.

“Currently, it’s not appealing to stare across the river at a bunch of coal piles,” Mayor Eric Genrich said of the expansion project. “If they are removed, I think that riverfront obviously increases substantially.”

The plan calls for building an “intermodal transportation facility,” according to the mayor’s office. Intermodal refers to more than one mode of transportation.

“I think it would be great to see a good deal of mixed-use development down there. Some parkland, some commercial use, some housing. I think some light industrial as a buffer near the southern edge,” Genrich says.

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Source: WBAY-TV