GREEN BAY, WI (WTAQ-WLUK) – East Town Mall is for sale, but it appears the City of Green Bay won’t be the one to buy it.
The Redevelopment Authority voted Tuesday afternoon to not pursue any type of acquisition.
“The city is not in the business of owning and operating malls,” said Brian Johnson, a Green Bay Alderperson, who suggested the city look into the mall property. “It’s all about development, getting the highest and best use out of property.”
Johnson made his suggestion six weeks ago, telling FOX 11 the property has a variety of potential uses including redevelopment, housing, or new infrastructure to take care of flooding issues in the area.
“Fortunately, real estate development doesn’t work at the pace of government, so you see some things that came to the table that we need to let unfold.”
Private interest is what came to the table.
“Our preference is always for these development deals to take place in the private market if that is possible, so we’re going to let that play out and see what comes of it,” said Eric Genrich, Green Bay’s mayor.
The 14.8 acre site is listed for $1.99 million. It does not include Kohls, Hobby Lobby, or Petco. It does include a vacant field behind the mall.
“I think housing is a serious possibility at East Town Mall, but it’s a sizeable location,” said Genrich, noting a recent a housing study found the city is in need of more housing units across all income levels.
“If six months from now, something hasn’t been done, I think it would be very prudent for us to have a conversation at that time,” said Johnson.
City officials say other reasons for not pursuing the property are it would have a negative impact on the TIF district in the area and the site offered minimal benefit for stormwater management.
The mall remains mostly vacant.
Four years ago, the current owner unveiled a plan to redevelop the interior mall layout to larger stores with exterior entrances, but the plan never went forward.
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