Safe Haven Pet Sanctuary has an accepted offer on this building on Fisk Street in Green Bay Sept. 21, 2026. PC: Fox 11 Online
GREEN BAY, WI (WTAQ-WLUK) — Safe Haven Pet Sanctuary is one step closer to being settled into a new permanent home. The sanctuary has an accepted offer on a building at 838 S. Fisk St. The property, a former funeral home, is near Green Bay Plaza on the city’s west side.
“There is a lot of room all of the different rooms that they used for the services and for the family during the services and the space upstairs is just wonderful,” said Safe Haven Pet Sanctuary Board of Directors President, Joe Becker.
Becker specifically noted the former embalming room would be a great space for Safe Haven’s veterinarian.
“You’d have to be a little bit odd to be interested in this building, but we’re cat weirdos, so we’re good with that,” said Becker.
According to a news release, “The property has a unique layout that works remarkably well for Safe Haven and will require substantially fewer renovations than many of the other buildings we considered. Most importantly, the property’s zoning appears to work for our intended use. We have already spoken with the City of Green Bay and Officer Meves, and at this stage, we are optimistic that things can move full speed ahead.”
“When our building collapsed in June, I felt like I was watching my life’s work disappear. But I knew I wasn’t going to let that be the end of Safe Haven’s story. We fought incredibly hard to get here, and our incredible community fought right alongside us. To know that we are this close to giving Safe Haven a forever home – one that can continue saving lives for generations, long after I’m gone – is almost impossible for me to put into words. I’m still in disbelief. We’re almost there,” said Safe Haven Founder & Executive Director Elizabeth Feldhausen.
Although close, the sale isn’t final. “We need to finalize the mortgage. We will be short. It won’t be a huge amount, but it’s not a small amount. We do have a bank who has given us preliminary approval. Now we just got to go through all the formal approval process and then we got to close,” said Becker.
Safe Haven’s original location on Broadway was condemned after a storm caused the roof to collapse.
While searching for a new location, Safe Haven has been temporarily operating out of St. Paul’s United Methodist Church. The sanctuary has had trouble finding a location, in part due to zoning.
Earlier this month, Green Bay expanded its zoning for animal boarding. 838 S. Fisk Street is zoned as “office-residential,” one of the expanded zones.
“Elizabeth said at the time that, okay, they’ve opened up these zones, but there’s really nothing in those zones that suits us, that’s for sale. Except it turns out this one is OR, Office Residential,” said Becker.
Although less than others Safe Haven looked at, the building does need some work. Becker specifically said it needs windows. He added carpet would need removed and new flooring put in.
Becker added that the community’s moral support by showing up to Safe Haven’s temporary location, and financial support through a GoFundMe have been critical for the nonprofit over the last few months.
The sanctuary hopes to open before its tenth anniversary this December.
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