GREEN BAY – Green Bay on Monday added a new wrinkle to Georgia-Pacific Corp.’s efforts to sell the Day Street Mill property.
One month after the mill property was listed for sale, the city’s Plan Commission on Monday night recommended the 44.2-acre mill property at 500 Day St. be rezoned from general industrial to a downtown district to allow a larger mix of uses, higher density and the expansion of downtown Green Bay across the East River.
The board also recommended the city update its future land use map for the mill property from the current general industrial designation to a mix of commercial and residential uses. Both recommendations must be approved by the City Council before they go into effect.
The commission voted to recommend the changes over requests it be delayed 30 to 60 days because Georgia-Pacific only received notification of the action five days ago and to give Georgia-Pacific and the site’s listing agent, Colliers International, the chance to update the city on interest in the site.
Cheryl Renier-Wigg, the city’s economic and community development director, said staff would be OK with a 30-day delay in recognition of the late notice and importance of the site and Georgia-Pacific’s investments in the city over the years.
“It’s a huge project,” Renier-Wigg said. “In our opinion, to delay this 30 days, we talked about that. We’d be OK with that, knowing that we’ll have this conversation with them regarding the use of the site.”
Chris Brennan, Georgia-Pacific’s public affairs manager for its Green Bay operations, and Bill Langhoff, of Colliers International, which is listing the mill site for sale, said interest in the 50-acre site has come from local, regional and national investors and developers so far. They expect letters of intent or offers to purchase to arrive from several parties in the days or weeks ahead.
“It is absolutely Georgia-Pacific’s full intent to cooperate and collaborate with the city with respect to the new owners. Our intent is to make these introductions,” Langhoff said. “We have had … very strong activity. We are on the verge of receiving both letters of intent and/or offers to purchase the property.”
‘It’s been industrial for 100 years and we have the chance’
The commission, though, voted 6-1 to recommend both changes with Council member and Plan Commissioner Jim Hutchison casting the sole vote against both actions.
“I want it downtown, but at the same time they own it. They’re good investors in this city,” Hutchison said. “I think we can work together to make this what we want.”
Commission members said they were sympathetic to Georgia-Pacific’s concerns and desire to talk with the city, but that the company and city staff will have weeks to discuss the site before the City Council considers final action on the requested changes. Statutory requirements for such changes mean the council would hold a first reading when it meets Jan. 21, but would not take a definitive vote until the council’s early March meeting.
Several said this was the city’s one chance to change the long-term use of the site before a possible industrial user buys it. They saw an opportunity to expand downtown Green Bay’s boundaries beyond the East River and to change the land use of a riverfront site used for heavy industry for 120-plus years.
“It’s been industrial for 100 years and we have the chance” to change it, Plan Commission Chair Lisa Hanson said.
Georgia-Pacific announced March 16, 2022, that it would shut down its Day Street mill in Green Bay in phases, with production ending in 2023.
Why change the land-use now?
City staff requested the changes after Georgia-Pacific this fall listed mill property and several adjacent parcels for sale via Colliers International. City planners left the door open to allowing light industrial use on part of the mill property, but cited several advantages to rezoning and changing the future uses that include:
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Connecting redevelopments along the north and south shores of the East River since Wisconsin Public Service continues to demolish its former headquarters buildings while trying to sell the property and the Day Street Mill is up for sale.
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The site’s proximity to the Green Bay Metro Transit Center would offer residents and employees close, reliable transportation options.
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Commercial and residential mixed uses would increase the variety of development a buyer could build on the site, making the mill more attractive to a wider swath of the market.
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Increasing tax base since residential, commercial and mixed-use property values far exceed industrial property values.
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Higher and better use of waterfront property, and
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More compatibility with downtown Green Bay and the neighborhood to the east of the mill.
How we got here
The mill started life in 1901 when seven Wisconsinites raised $70,000 to build and launch the Northern Tissue Paper Mill. The mill would provide family-supporting jobs and a sense of community for Green Bay area residents for nearly 125 years.
The mill would be given many names over the years — Northern Tissue Paper Mill, Northern Paper Mills, the East Mill, the James River Mill — and it would have several owners. Georgia-Pacific bought the Day Street Mill as part of its acquisition of Fort James Corp. in 2000. Koch Industries bought Georgia-Pacific in 2005.
It was Georgia-Pacific that, in March 2022, notified the mill’s remaining employees of its plans to shut down the mill in phases over the next 18 months. The company cited the mill’s aging machinery and changing customer demands for the shutdown. With about 25 employees left, the final napkin converting line stopped production Sept. 8, 2023.
Contact business reporter Jeff Bollier at (920) 431-8387 or jbollier@gannett.com. Follow him on Twitter at @JeffBollier.
This article originally appeared on Green Bay Press-Gazette: Green Bay OKs Day Street Mill rezoning changes over request to delay