GREEN BAY, WI (WTAQ-WLUK) – An extension has been requested for a $15 million grant that has been earmarked to help move the coal piles out of downtown Green Bay, according to state officials.
Wisconsin’s Department of Administration tells says it is
currently working with the Brown County Executive and City of Green Bay to discuss the next steps for the Neighborhood Investment Fund grant including a requested extension of the project period. Those conversations remain ongoing, and the extension remains pending as of this writing.
About $31 million in grants were awarded to a broader port expansion project at the former Pulliam Power Plant site at the mouth of the Fox River, which was supposed to be the new home for the coal piles.
There has been a desire to the move the coal piles out of the city’s downtown for decades. A study found the property where the coal piles currently sit could garner $150 million worth of new economic development.
The $15 million grant from the state was announced in 2022. Elected officials have said the money is contingent on a deal being worked out to move the coal piles.
C. Reiss CEO Keith Haselhoff told Brown County’s board before it voted on lease terms on Dec. 18 that the coal piles would remain at their current site if terms were altered from what the company previously agreed to with Brown County administration. A statement from the company after the board’s vote did not specifically state it rejects the updated terms.
A $10 million federal grant also appears to be at risk of being lost if a deal cannot be reached with C. Reiss Company.
Brown County Corporation Counsel David Hemery says there will be more information coming out next week.
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