Buttigieg: 'It's about time' federal funds approved for Port of Green Bay expansion
Jeff Bollier
GREEN BAY - The Port of Green Bay is on the verge of starting work on its first new shipping terminal in more than 100 years thanks to federal dollars U.S. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg on Wednesday said was long overdue.
"It's about time. This city and this region is so key to Midwest commerce. It's so well-positioned because of its infrastructure," Buttigieg said, noting interstate highways, rail lines and the port's connection into the global shipping network.
Buttigieg and U.S. Sen. Tammy Baldwin took a boat tour of the former Pulliam Power Plant site as part of an effort to highlight the $10.1 million Port Infrastructure Development Program grant Baldwin helped secure for the port expansion effort.
"We really felt every inch of the bay just now, but really also saw the vision and the commitment," Buttigieg said. "You've got a lot to be proud of. It's a competitive program. It's not a small thing for you and your team to have earned this (grant)."
The port expansion project would convert the former power plant site into a multifunction port terminal, a facility where ships can load and unload cargo. The county also plans to sell some of the Pulliam site to GLC Minerals for it to expand and add more jobs. The expansion project could increase the port's economic activity by $87 million in the first five years after it is completed. It also captured a lot of community attention because it could help Green Bay and Brown County relocate the coal piles site out of the central city, a decades-old dream.
The $10.1 million federal grant is one key piece of the puzzle which port, county and city officials have had to put together to expand the port and find a possible new home for the coal piles. Here's a look at what's involved, how much it'll cost, where the coal piles fit in and what's yet to be determined.
Where's the money coming from to expand the Port of Green Bay?
The current estimate is that all the work involved will cost about $30 million. Port officials expect to finalize design plans by early 2024 which will enable the costs to come into sharper focus.
The port has assembled $30.8 million from federal, state and local sources, including the $10 million Buttigieg visited Green Bay to highlight:
- $500,000 Idle Sites Grant from Wisconsin Economic Development Corp. to help buy the property
- $3.2 million in Brown County American Rescue Plan Act dollars
- $2.1 million in WisDOT Harbor Assistance Grants
- $15 million in state American Rescue Plan Act dollars
When will the work happen?
Right now, the expectation is that designs and engineering plans would be finalized and put out to bid in early 2024.
Construction, under this timeline, would begin in 2024 and carry over into 2025.
Port terminal would require work on land and in Fox River
The site will require a variety of improvements in order to maximize the available land on the site and to support its use as a port terminal. Mark Walter, the port's business development manager, told a Port Symposium crowd in April the aim is to make the site "as flexible a port facility as we can."
The site will get a new, 700-foot long, 72-foot tall dock wall, most of which will be underwater. This will enable cargo ships to pull up alongside the site. Crews will also dredge the Fox River near the Pulliam site to a depth that will facilitate ship traffic. The facilities work would create a site that could unload cargo from a ship up to 650 feet in length.
The new dock wall will allow crews to fill in the slip, channels and behind the existing bulkhead along the property, creating additional space for port uses. It's possible the material dredged from the river could be used to fill in the site.
The Port of Green Bay also needs to design the site so it can manage stormwater, too.
What's left to figure out: Road, rail access challenges still need to be solved
There are three key, design details that port officials still have to work out to create a port site that offers access to waterways, highways and rail lines.
The site presents some challenges when it comes to road and a rail access, two keys if the site is to properly function.
The third piece to resolve before design work can wrap up and the project can proceed to soliciting bids involves environmental and soil concerns — things like stormwater management, erosion control, wetland identification and a general environmental assessment of the project.
So what about the Green Bay coal piles?
The port expansion represents phase one of the redevelopment project, while an effort to relocate the coal piles to the new port site from the 36 acres of riverfront land just south of the Mason Street overpass would mark phase two.
That will involve city and county officials negotiating terms of a lease with C. Reiss Company, the coal piles owner, on the new port terminal site and reaching a deal to buy the current coal piles site for redevelopment purposes. Those talks have a long way to go before any sort of agreement is reached.
Buttigieg said the chance to free up the coal piles site for further redevelopment is only one element of what made the port expansion project grant request "compelling."
"I know everyone here is excited about (relocating the coal piles)," Buttigieg said. "It's going to mean even more opportunity for this growing community."
Contact Jeff Bollier at (920) 431-8387 orjbollier@gannett.com. Follow him on Twitter at @JeffBollier.