16-07-2025
Rezoning historic Day Street Mill property comes into focus after Green Bay City Council approval
It's taken months of back-and-forth and waiting, but broad strokes of how the historic Day Street Mill property at 500 Day Street could be rezoned for downtown usage were crystalized July 15.
The Green Bay City Council approved a non-binding memorandum of understanding with the property's expected buyer, Scout Development GB LLC. Its president, Chester McDonald, is also the owner of McDonald Companies that had indicated in April it intended to buy the land from Georgia-Pacific.
The details outlined in the memorandum of understanding gave the clearest sense to date of the plans for the property and how its redevelopment will proceed. The effort is expected to significantly expand opportunities to grow the city's downtown along the banks of the Fox and East rivers.
And though the adopted memorandum of understanding was only meant to show the city and Scout Development's intentions to cooperate in redeveloping and rezoning the 44.2-acre property, it also assuaged some transparency concerns previously raised by council member Alyssa Proffitt, whose district includes the Georgia-Pacific site.
"There's a lot more in writing in front of us now than there have been up to this point, so I look forward to seeing what we see with the official application come November, if all parties agree to that," Proffitt said, referring to the Planned Unit Development application outlining finalized plans for the property anticipated to be submitted by Scout Development in November.
According to the memorandum, the portion of land north of Day Street may allow for some light industrial uses. The land south of Day Street will be primarily for downtown use, though the memorandum stated some "industrial uses compatible with the City's vision for downtown redevelopment" would be allowed on specified areas, such as the site of the now-demolished WPS building. All land within 50 feet of the Fox and East rivers would be reserved for public access, including the possibility for an easement that would permanently guarantee pedestrian access and access to the water for recreation.
The memorandum further outlined a tentative timeline of all that would happen to get the property ready before Scout Development officially bought the property from Georgia-Pacific.
Currently, Scout Development GB is conducting due diligence on the property, according to the City Council agenda item.
Immediately following the memorandum of understanding's adoption, both the city and Scout Development would immediately begin biweekly coordination meetings and start marketing the property to potential tenants.
Scout Development would complete an environmental assessment by October.
Then, by November, Scout Development will submit its Planned Unit Development application to the city, which would detail the kinds of commercial, residential and industrial uses and their layout on the property. Neighbors will be able to give their input on the proposed plans from November through December.
Finally, in January 2026, the City Council will give its final decision on the proposed plans and Scout Development will have acquired the property.
"All the goals are still the same and we feel we're moving in a very positive direction," McDonald said.
A related rezoning amendment was tabled until the City Council's November meeting, which would have rezoned all of the 44.2 acres of industrial land currently owned by Georgia-Pacific for downtown use, allowing for a wide array of commercial and residential activities and following the recommendation from the city's Plan Commission back in January.
Jesse Lin is a reporter covering the community of Green Bay and its surroundings, as well as politics in northeastern Wisconsin. Contact him at 920-834-4250 or jlin@
This article originally appeared on Green Bay Press-Gazette: Day Street Mill Georgia-Pacific property rezoning in Green Bay detailed
