Georgia-Pacific Paper Mill Site Up for Sale, Offering Chance for Downtown Redevelopment

SEATTLE (Scrap Monster): Big and exciting changes could be on the way to downtown Green Bay at the site of the old Georgia-Pacific paper mill, which is now up for sale.

The Green Bay Plan Commission meets Monday night to discuss rezoning of the property.

 The mill is located at 500 Day Street on the east side, where the East River and Fox River meet. It's been just over two years since Georgia-Pacific announced the closure its Day Street paper mill.

"Downtown Green Bay was very, very industrial, and over the last 100 years, it's slowly changed on over, and this would be, in our minds, a natural progression of that downtown zoning," City of Green Bay principal planner David Buck said.

Buck said city staff are recommending to rezone the nearly 50-acre site from industrial land use to downtown land use. Rezoning would helping make way for housing, offices and retail/service space.

"Our downtown is what it is. I mean, it's landlocked, we're built all the way around. It's rare that you'll get 40-60 acres of developable property," Buck said.

The old WPS building nearby is also part of the plan to revitalize the area, offering an additional 15 acres of land. Buck said the mill and WPS site are prime real estate for pedestrians who want more access to the river -- plus, it's just 500 feet from the transit center.

 The mill opened in 1901 and served Northeast Wisconsin for 122 years, even giving Green Bay its unofficial title as the "Toilet Paper Capital of the World." But now some say, it's time for something new.

"This is a generational opportunity to bring in a mix of uses and it gives more flexibility for the future development of the site," executive director of Downtown Green Bay, Inc. Jeff Mirkes said.

Mirkes said he's pleased with what the mill provided for more than a century, but thinks rezoning is the best solution to making downtown even better.

"If there are mixed use developments that could better connect it to the downtown through a variety of uses, it could really expand the downtown footprint," Mirkes said.

 Courtesy: www.fox11online.com