GREEN BAY, WI (WTAQ-WLUK) – A stalled downtown Green Bay housing project, valued at $21 million, is looking to start back up early next year.
However, developers say the only way to do that is to change from all market rate units to mostly affordable units.
The five-story apartment building known as The Fort is supposed to end up looking as it was originally pitched to the city in 2019, but those familiar with the plans say they are now drastically different.
“I wouldn’t have chosen to live here if I had seen this coming, I absolutely wouldn’t have,” said Brighid Riordan, a member of Green Bay’s Redevelopment Authority.
Riordan lives near the site for The Fort, in the Rail Yard district. Her concern is there could now be too many low income housing projects in the area.
80 percent of The Fort’s units will now be for people making about 60 percent of the area median income instead of all units being for average incomes.
“I’d make the decision to move depending on how this moves forward,” said Riordan.
Neighbors have said the site has become an eyesore after construction abruptly stopped nearly a year ago.
The developer, TWG Development, says it couldn’t secure Opportunity Zone funding it was relying on.
“There is not an option we did not look at,” said Michael Taft with TWG Development.
TWG Development says securing WHEDA tax credits and gearing the apartments to lower incomes is the only way to salvage the project.
A reason for people’s concern is TWG also recently built and opened The Broadway Lofts a block away, which is also geared toward lower incomes.
“I would say this is not a concentration of low-income housing,” said Taft. “If the range of incomes for this property is between $34,000 and $50,000. the average median income for the neighborhood is $38,000 so it almost would raise the average income for the neighborhood.”
Taft says the 107 units at The Broadway Lofts filled much faster than anticipated and there is currently a wait list to live there.
City staff said they weren’t aware of any major issues with the lofts since opening in January.
Mayor Eric Genrich points out the lowest rent at The Fort is $850, higher than many mortgage payments.
“Connecting this back to what our needs are in the community, I think it makes a pretty compelling argument that we’re very short on these units that are accessible to working people,” said Genrich.
The RDA supported the changes on a 4 to 1 vote.
The city council will have the final say during a meeting scheduled for next month.
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