GREEN BAY, WI (WTAQ-WLUK) – Green Bay’s city council quickly approved the purchase of the old Press Gazette building Tuesday night to potentially be the new home for the city’s police department.
Everyone on the council seems to agree the purchase is the right move to make to see if the possibility can be turned into a reality. However, confidence varies on whether the 100-year-old building is a good fit.
In a rare move for a purchase as large as this one, Green Bay’s city council approved buying the building for $3.6 million without any discussion.
“It’s the process that really led to a unanimous decision from council tonight,” said Green Bay City Council President Brian Johnson.
For several years, city leaders have been looking at options for a new home for the police department. In more recent years, experts from the public have joined the discussion with the building right next door to City Hall emerging as the number one option.
“We knew that to find an opportunity that doubles your square footage, provides the needs that you need at half the price of constructing new, this is something you have to act on quickly because the price we purchased it for was below the reserve price at auction that was turned away,” said Johnson.
Concerns remain. Former officer and current city council vice president Bill Galvin is hearing some from his former police colleagues.
“The amount of parking, storage for police vehicles, the age of the building, the possible pitfalls because of the way the building is designed,” said Galvin, who says he shares some of those same concerns. “Are we going to have to change the way we do business to fit into the building or can we make the building fit the way we do business?”
Green Bay Police Chief Chris Davis and Mayor Eric Genrich have both expressed their confidence this option could work.
“Once we get into the process a little bit more, we’re going to be able to figure out exactly what the dollar amount looks like, but we feel good about it at this stage and we’re glad to be moving forward,” said Genrich.
The hope is to have a space analysis done within the next few months to confirm the building could house the police department. From there, a plan would be made to pay for redevelopment.
If the building doesn’t work, city leaders are confident it could be resold or redeveloped for other use.
As part of the deal, the city is offering up Fire Stations 1 and 3 to the current owner of the old Press Gazette building. In hopes of historic preservation, the city would need to sign off on how those buildings would be repurposed.
The goal is to get those buildings back on the tax rolls to help pay for the updates to the new police department.
Plans are in the works to build a new fire department across from the Shipyard site, on Broadway. However, those plans have not been finalized yet.
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