GREEN BAY (NBC 26) — Brown County and C. Reiss Terminals have finalized a long-awaited agreement that will help move the coal piles from downtown Green Bay.
The two sides have agreed on a 60-year contract for C. Reiss to lease part of the former Pulliam Power Plant site near the bay on the west side of the Fox River. That site will host C. Reiss' salt operations, while the coal will relocate to the nearby Fox River Terminal.
It's the latest chapter in the ongoing effort to move the coal and develop its current site on the west side of the Fox River near Mason Street. This past February, the county board unanimously approved an agreement to move the coal.
The Mason Street property is expected to be redeveloped into a mixed-use development, a project leaders hope will bring millions of dollars into the local economy.
In January, Gov. Tony Evers awarded a $1.3 million grant to support the project.
“I’m extremely happy that both sides were able to seize this historic opportunity by agreeing to a long-term lease agreement that will have the utmost positive economic impact on Brown County and Northeast Wisconsin,” Brown County Executive Troy Streckenbach said in a statement. “Thank you to our internal Brown County team, the Brown County Board of Supervisors, and the City of Green Bay for their cooperation and support during this complicated process, and to the State of Wisconsin and the Federal Government for their assistance.”
Streckenbach added that "the City of Green Bay is now on deck" to work with C. Reiss to redevelop the area.
“C. Reiss is pleased to have reached agreement with Brown County on a long-term lease for the northern section of the former Pulliam Plant site,” the company's CEO Keith Haselhoff said in the statement. “This is an important step forward in the effort to expand capacity at the Port of Green Bay, facilitate the relocation of coal piles from the downtown Mason Street riverfront, and advance the community’s long-standing goal of redeveloping that site."
