GREEN BAY, WI (WTAQ-WLUK) – The Green Bay City Council moved quickly Tuesday night to approve the purchase of the old Press Gazette building, potentially serving as the new home for the city’s police department.
Everyone on the council seems to agree that the purchase is the right step to take to see if the opportunity can be made a reality. However, there is mixed opinion on whether the 100-year-old building is a good fit.
In an unusual move for a purchase of this magnitude, the Green Bay City Council approved the purchase of the building for $3.6 million without discussion.
“It’s the process that really led to a unanimous decision by the council tonight,” said Green Bay City Council President Brian Johnson.
For several years, city officials have been examining options for a new location for the police department. In recent years, experts from the community have participated in the discussion, with the building right next to City Hall emerging as the first option.
“We knew we had to act quickly to find an opportunity to double the square footage and meet all of our needs at half the cost of new construction, because the price we bought it for was below the reserve price at the rejected auction,” Johnson said.
Concerns remain. Former police officer and current City Council Vice President Bill Galvin hears some from his former police colleagues.
“The amount of parking, the ability to accommodate police vehicles, the age of the building, the potential hazards due to the way the building is constructed,” said Galvin, who shares some of those concerns. “Do we need to change our business operations to fit the building, or can we adapt the building to our business operations?”
Both Green Bay Police Chief Chris Davis and Mayor Eric Genrich expressed confidence that this option could work.
“Once we get a little more into the process, we’ll be able to determine the exact dollar amount, but at this stage we’re happy with the matter and excited to move forward,” Genrich said.
It is hoped that a spatial analysis will be carried out in the next few months to confirm that the building is suitable for accommodating the police. On this basis, a plan could be drawn up to finance the conversion.
If the building does not function, the city administration believes it could be resold or renovated for another use.
As part of the deal, the city is offering fire stations 1 and 3 to the current owner of the old Press Gazette building. For historic preservation reasons, the city would have to approve how these buildings would be repurposed.
The goal is to put these buildings back on the tax roll to finance the modernization of the new police station.
There are plans to build a new fire station opposite the shipyard on Broadway, but these plans are not yet finalized.
