Green Bay’s Public Market hopes to open by NFL Draft with city’s help

GREEN BAY, Wis. (WBAY) - Fundraising continues for Green Bay’s Public Market Project, but construction could be delayed if owners don’t hit their goal for the estimated $12.5 million price tag sooner, rather than later.

It’s all about timing. The hope is to open the market in time for the NFL Draft in April. To do that, On Broadway, Inc. is turning to the city for financial help.

The non-profit is asking the city to approve a proposal to create a tax incremental district, also known as a TID.

It’s basically a tool the city can use to help fill the funding gap to allow construction to move forward on major redevelopment projects.

The non-profit is asking the city for a total of $4.27 million. Two million of it would be in pay-as-you-go TIF dollars, meaning they only receive them after they pay taxes.

One million of it would be a loan from the state trust fund to help close the remaining funding gap, which would be paid back from future donor pledges. So far, $6.5 million has been raised through private support

On Tuesday, the redevelopment authority unanimously approved the TID request; it now heads to the city council for a vote later this month. Action 2 News was told the building is prepped in anticipation of approval.

“If drive by right now, gutted out, torn apart, now when the capital stack closes our contractor can come in and do formal work of building out, so new utilities electrical, mechanical and all the pretty stuff that shows up,” said On Broadway’s Garritt Bader.

If the city approves the proposal, it would get On Broadway into the 10 million-dollar range for the project, meaning they still need to raise more funds to complete it.

If everything goes according to plan, On Broadway hopes to hold a ground-breaking ceremony this fall.