DE PERE, WI(WTAQ-WLUK) – Brown County’s second largest employer is selling its campus in De Pere.
Humana plans to lease back part of the office building it currently occupies near Lawrence Drive. The rest of the undeveloped property will be filled with a mix of development, according to city officials.
“We have 80 acres of undeveloped land here that was planned for business park,” said Dan Lindstrom, De Pere’s Development Services Director.
“It just hasn’t been done so by the actual property owner. We have an opportunity now to actually infill development, which is not something you have an opportunity to do very often.”
In a statement, Humana says, “At Humana, we have long embraced technology that has allowed many of our teammates the flexibility to shift to mobile or work-at-home arrangements in recent years. As a result, we currently have more dedicated office space than we are using in De Pere.
In 2019, we explored the option of leasing a portion of the building to a tenant, and among the offers we received was an unexpected sale-leaseback proposal. After evaluating this opportunity, we have finalized an agreement for the sale of the campus, along with a long-term, 10-year leaseback of office space, enabling Humana to maintain a presence in a significant portion of the building.
This is a strategic opportunity for Humana to free up capital and invest in an updated and upgraded office environment, and we are confident in the ability of the purchaser to manage the property well.
There is no reduction in our more than 2,000-person local workforce associated with this change, and our employees will continue to enjoy all of the De Pere campus amenities. Humana remains committed to our local team and health plan members, and to the greater Green Bay community, as we work together to help Wisconsinites achieve their best health.”
“It’s a beautiful campus,” said Jared Schmidt of Robert E. Lee & Associates, while speaking to De Pere’s common council Tuesday night. “It’s a beautiful property.”
Schmidt spoke to De Pere’s common council on behalf of the group purchasing the property, Preserve Development, LLC. The group declined an interview requestwith FOX 11, but Schmidt told the council the group wants to preserve the commercial uses along Lawrence Drive and fill much of the rest of the land with single and multi-family housing.
“They’re committed to a very high end, quality development, trying to preserve what has already been created with some of the corporate campuses that are there and also give those entities a place for their staff to live and work close.”
A few area residents and one business owner expressed concerns to city officials. The main concern was the addition of multi-family housing to the area.
“In terms of some potential condos, potential senior housing, some potential townhomes, these are all things that provide a little bit different feel than I guess what you would say would be the typical scare point for a multi-family property,” said Lindstrom.
The developer says it plans to work with the community on other concerns moving forward, including traffic and buffers for existing residents.
De Pere’s common council unanimously approved a change to its comprehensive plan to accommodate the future development.
The city isn’t sure when the development could start.
Development would include a park the city has leased from Humana for $1 per year.
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