DE PERE (NBC 26) — The area of Downtown De Pere near the 100 block of Broadway Street has been empty for years, now the City hopes to develop it into something new– a $70 million mix-use housing complex.
- Council will determine the terms of the developer contract at their Tuesday night meeting.
- The proposal has the City paying the developer nearly $12 million in incentives.
- De Pere Mayor James Boyd says the project won't break ground until next year, and there will be opportunities for public feedback before then.
(The following is a transcription of the full broadcast story)
Since a fire destroyed multiple businesses in 2019, the area near Main Avenue and Broadway Street of the Fox River has been empty.
“We have a blighted property here that’s just hurting for something," De Pere Mayor James Boyd says.
Now, the same developer who built the NOVA Apartments in Green Bay, is building a $70 million mix-use complex on the space. The plans include more than 190 housing units– Boyd says 165 of those will be market value apartments.
The complex will include space for restaurants and retail spaces.
According to the proposal, De Pere would pay about $12 million in incentives to the developer if the plan is approved.
The City Council will vote on the plans and the terms of construction on Tuesday.
"Everything else has to go through committees, commissions and boards, over the upcoming year or so, so there will be plenty of opportunity for public feedback," Boyd says.
Boyd says the project won't break ground until next yer.
Kristin Bailey has been fishing on the Fox River, close to the new development, for 35 years.
She says she's worried no one will be able to afford the new units..
"I feel like they’re pushing the regular people out, like only the wealthy can afford to live here anymore," she says. "It's using resources that could be better allocated to people who actually need homes.”
Watch the full broadcast story here:
