GREEN BAY, WI (WTAQ) – A 10-year birthday celebration for Green Bay’s City Deck on Wednesday had local officials reflecting on how important of an addition it’s been to the downtown landscape.
In 2009, Phase II of the Pine and Cherry Piers were just finishing.
While Phase III, which included construction to the Walnut Street tunnel, was just getting underway.
James Anderson, Recreation Superintendent, says in a decades time the city has learned how to properly utilize the amenity.
“Over the last ten years we just kept building upon the successes we had each year,” explains Anderson. “And by the tenth year all of a sudden you look back and you go, wow.”
He says it’s been important to discover the proper way to incorporate living space, businesses, restaurants, and plenty of entertainment.
Also, it turns out that all of those have helped make a few bucks too.
“That’s resulted in over an $80-million new tax base,” he explains. “And of that tax base, $25-million was from rental and residential investment alone.”
At its heart, he envisioned the project being great for anyone in the area, no matter if they planned to spend their money nearby or not.
The space along the water was plenty busy Wednesday morning with people just looking to enjoy the nice, seasonable weather.
“I see people just sitting by the water, you know, reading a book or having lunch,” says Anderson.
Maybe it was just coincidence that the “10th birthday” for the City Deck corresponded with the release date of the 2019 Summer in the City Events Guide for Downtown Green Bay, but it makes sense considering how influential the space has become to the area.
Anderson says a number of popular events will be returning to the City Deck this summer.
“Activities like Dine on the Dock,” he explains. “At night they have concerts and yoga on the deck.”
Looking back, he thinks there always was a demand locally for these types of activities, but the proper space was needed first to bring in the masses.
“I think it was just the spark that we needed to kick things off,” he says.
Events going on at the City Deck and throughout Downtown Green Bay this summer can all be found in the new Summer in the City Events Guide.
That can be found throughout the downtown district and downloaded here.
