State grant to revitalize GB port

Posted at 1:30 p.m. on Monday, January 4, 2021

The Brillion News

MADISON - A $500,000 grant to Brown County for Port of Green Bay Expansion was announced on Monday, January 4, by the Wisconsin Economic Development Corporation and Governor Tony Evers' office.

WEDC funds will assist purchase of decommissioned Pulliam Power Plant property and relocation of the coal piles associated with the mothballed plant.

Brown County, which manages the Green Bay port, will receive a $500,000 grant from the Wisconsin Economic Development Corporation (WEDC) to assist in purchasing the former WPS Pulliam Plant property as part of the effort to relocate coal piles away from the downtown district and expand the economic activity of the Port of Green Bay.

WEDC will provide Brown County with an Idle Sites Redevelopment (ISR) grant to partially fund the purchase of the 40-acre parcel at the mouth of the Fox River. The property is considered key to efforts by the county and the City of Green Bay to redevelop not only the port, turning the Pulliam Plant site into a port-related industrial property, but portions of downtown Green Bay.

The Pulliam Plant property has been identified as the most critical parcel for the port expansion project. The port is a designated Foreign Trade Zone and this strategy includes expanding the port activities which will result in increased economic activity and jobs in Green Bay and the northeast region, resulting in a stronger state economy.

The former WPS Pulliam Power Plant property was decommissioned in 2016 after years of retiring operational units. The WEDC ISR Program offers grants to Wisconsin communities to redevelop sites that have been idle, abandoned, or underutilized and redevelopment results in the potential to elevate local economies.