GREEN BAY (NBC 26) — Green Bay's mayor says the agreement to relocate the longstanding C. Reiss coal piles away from the Fox River downtown is "a defining moment" for the region.
"For generations, our community has envisioned an accessible and dynamic riverfront throughout our downtown core," Genrich said in a news release. "This agreement turns that aspiration into reality and reflects the power of persistence, partnership, and a shared commitment to realizing our community’s full potential."
On Thursday night, the Brown County board unanimously approved to finalize the land deal with C. Reiss to relocate the company to the river's mouth at the former Pulliam Power Plant site.
The mayor says the city council will vote on Tuesday, June 10, to commit up to $2.2 million to support the project.
According to the mayor, the current 35-acre coal storage site along the downtown waterfront will be transformed into a mixed-use, downtown-style development on the northernmost 10 acres. The rest of the land will have continued modern and clean industrial or port use to the south. Genrich says preliminary estimates expect more than $150 million in new economic activity.
According to documents from the Brown County Board of Supervisors, the agreement includes C. Reiss leasing 16 usable acres from the county at the former power plant site, with lease payments set at $350,000 per year. The lease term is 60 years.
"I extend my gratitude to Brown County Executive Troy Streckenbach, Chairman Pat Buckley and the entire Brown County Board of Supervisors, C. Reiss leadership and the Kroh family, Governor Evers, DOA Secretary Blumenfeld, and our entire legislative delegation for their dedication to this effort," Genrich said in the release.
The coal piles have sitting along the waterfront on Mason Street since before the turn of the 20th century.
