GREEN BAY – Two years and two locations later, a Madison-based developer, Lutheran Social Services, financiers and city officials celebrated the completion of the $15 million Bay City Lofts affordable housing development on the east side.
Gorman & Company on Tuesday held a ceremonial ribbon-cutting for the 48-unit apartment building that will set aside most of the units for families that earn significantly less than the median income. Several of the apartments have also been equipped with features specifically helpful for people with disabilities, too.
Bay City Lofts, 2510 University Ave., needed grants and tax incremental financing incentives from the city, housing tax credits from the state and key support from financing partners like Associated Bank to weather a development effort unlike any Ted Matkom, Wisconsin market president for Gorman & Company, said he had experienced before.
“This is the strangest journey I’ve ever taken,” Matkom told the small crowd gathered in the building’s community room. “But the mayor, staff and the City Council stayed with us and provided essential gap financing to get this done.”
City Council member Craig Stevens, whose district includes the Bay City Lofts site, welcomed the development and its residents — many have already moved in — to the east-side neighborhood.
“Let’s remember this is not just about bricks and mortar, but about people, stories and the community of life that will be weaved together here,” Stevens said. “As we welcome these new apartments and their residents, let’s create an atmosphere of warmth, respect and unity.”
Original plans focused on west side of Green Bay
Bay City Lofts, Gorman’s first Green Bay area housing development, stood out to Matkom largely because it was originally conceived of, designed and proposed to be built on a completely different location.
Mayor Eric Genrich had shown Matkom around Green Bay more than two years ago to showcase possible sites for Gorman to build an affordable housing project. The company focused in on the parking lot of the former Military Avenue Shopko. During 2022, Gorman negotiated a land purchase, secured coveted state housing tax credits vital to helping finance affordable housing construction.
By February 2023, Gorman secured initial approvals from the city of Green Bay contingent on the Shopko building’s owner, H.J. Martin & Son, being able to permanently use the old big box store for industrial uses, which otherwise would not be permitted on the commercial site.
When the City Council in March 2023 considered the development agreement terms and project plan, H.J. Martin owner Ed Martin argued the council should reject the plan over the permanent industrial use it had requested from the city as part of the development agreement. With all signs pointing to an impasse, the council rejected the agreement.
More on housing:Inside City East: Why combined United Way home, workforce housing a big win for Green Bay
Mayor: Bay City Lofts a ‘most-unique’ but ‘very rewarding’ effort
Rather than succumb to the roadblocks, the partners set out to quickly find a new location for Bay City Lofts. City officials looked for potential locations, coming up with the University Avenue site and additional funding to close budget gaps. Gorman & Company was able to get the state to approve transferring the tax credits to an entirely different site in an entirely different neighborhood, and Bay City Lofts was revived. By May 2023, the City Council approved the change of scenery.
“To move this project required a lot of dedication and vision to address the affordable housing crisis,” Matkom said of city officials and project partners.
Genrich said during Tuesday’s ceremony that the effort has proven worth it, calling it the “most unique” circumstances but ultimately “very rewarding.”
Market-rate amenities at rents affordable to working families
Forty of the 48 units will be set aside for individuals and families that earn 30% to 60% of the Green Bay area’s median income. Currently, 60% of the area’s median income is $41,175 for an individual or $58,800 for a family of four.
But Matkom pointed out that the units all have the same amenities and finishes regardless of who rents them.
The units include washer and dryer, high-end countertops, energy-efficient appliances, central air, dishwashers and bathtub/showers. The building features a community room, fitness center, storage spaces, on-site management, elevator and bike storage. Several of the first-floor units offer townhouse layouts with entrances directly to the street.
Bay City Lofts continues redevelopment efforts of former meatpacking site and the old ‘University Avenue triangle’
Bay City Lofts continues a decade-long effort to redevelop a key part of the University Avenue corridor formerly called the University Avenue triangle and the nearby former JBS Packerland meatpacking plant just east of the triangle.
In 2015, the city began an effort to redevelop triangle-shaped roads and blighted commercial properties into a realigned roadway and new, retail developments.
Plans that included new Festival Foods and Kwik Trip stores emerged in early 2016 and by May 2016 demolition of the existing structures in the area began. By December 2016, Festival Foods opened the store at 2430 University Ave. and Kwik Trip followed suit shortly after Festival.
A proposal to develop more than 300 apartments on the 33.2-acre JBS Packerland site, located directly behind Bay City Lofts, stalled out by 2021 after only a couple of buildings had been completed. Toonen Properties stepped in to buy the bulk of the former meatpacking site and set out to construct about 200 more apartments on the property.
What will the rents be at Bay City Lofts?
The 40 units available to income-qualified individuals and families will likely rent for prices different from the market-rate units that are available to anyone regardless of income.
The Bay City Lofts website does not list prices for its one-, two- and three-bedroom units available, but Apartments.com indicates monthly rent in the building ranges from $824 to $1,406. To learn more about available units and prices, it’s best to call the property at (920) 307-1020 or email staff at [email protected].
“Bay City Lofts represents the first of, what we hope will be, many affordable housing communities in Green Bay,” Matkom said in a media release.
Contact business reporter Jeff Bollier at (920) 431-8387 or[email protected]. Follow him on Twitter at @JeffBollier.
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