New developer set to take over apartment project on Green Bay’s east side

GREEN BAY, Wis. (WBAY) - A building construction project on Green Bay’s east side that has stopped is getting new signs of life.

TMD Properties agreed to construct more than 300 apartments, including some for senior citizens and University of Wisconsin Green Bay students, along University Avenue.

Yet, it’s now incapable of completing the job as city leaders try to address a housing shortage.

“We’re getting more people than we are building units. the demand is still out pacing the supply at this point,” Green Bay Development Director Neil Stechschulte said.

As Action 2 News previously reported, the Green Bay City Council approved TMD’s project in 2017 at the site of the old JBS Packerland plant.

The city injected $1.5 million for demolition and environmental clean up through a grant, but then TMD stopped.

After TMD constructed two buildings with 36 units, Toonen Properties is set to take over the project. The company is first asking the city officials for $5 million in the form of tax payer assistance for demolition.

“Without the rest of the project actually happening, there’s not a lot of tax increment coming back in to help pay for that,” Stechschulte said. “[It] really kind of helps...a bit of a sigh of relief for much of the city to get a quality project in there and actually get some tax base built on the site.”

The Redevelopment Authority of the city of Green Bay will meet on Tuesday to consider it.

Instead of the 322, Toonen is scaling down the project proposing 209 market rate apartments, according to the city’s agenda.

Toonen already has an apartment complex right across the street from the University Ave site and property management is known for requiring tenants to have vehicles that don’t leak fluids or are rusted.

“They’re a proven developer. They’ve done a lot of other units in the Green Bay market,” Stechschulte said. “It’s probably going to take them two to three years to put their 200 units up.”

If things go as planned, the Green Bay City Council will get the final say on this new deal on August 3.

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