By Lee Reinsch
Correspondent
DE PERE – Resilient – The ability to withstand or recover quickly from difficult conditions.
Mayor James Boyd said it fits the City of De Pere, so it’s no surprise city leaders chose resilience as the theme of this year’s State of De Pere held at St. Norbert College Feb. 23.
Boyd said in the midst of the second year of the COVID-19 pandemic, De Pere didn’t stop moving ahead.
“Throughout the year, retail shops and restaurants stayed open, new businesses opened, arts and entertainment venues were programmed,” Tina Quigley, executive director of Definitely De Pere, told a full room of business and academic leaders. “Employees returned to their offices, personal and professional services met their clients’ needs, and events came back bigger than ever.”
Despite supply chain disruptions caused by the pandemic, Boyd said De Pere continued to build.
He said the tower crane on the site of the future 75,000-square-foot Mulva Family Cultural Center, across the Claude Allouez Bridge roundabout, demonstrated that.
“The Mulva Cultural Center is the vision of James J. and Miriam B. Mulva, De Pere natives whose immense generosity will provide world-class cultural experiences for generations to come,” Boyd said. “The Mulvas envision the center to be a catalyst for community investment and an anchor for De Pere’s ongoing vitality.”
The project is expected to open in 2023, Boyd said.
Nelson Family Pavilion
The Nelson Family Pavilion project at Voyageur Park was formally unveiled at the State of De Pere luncheon.
Boyd said the facility will serve as an important amenity for existing events, accommodating indoor gatherings of up to 250 people, and provide an opportunity to increase programming at the park, with an outdoor concert stage for audiences of up to 5,000.
“Fundraising has already been kickstarted by a generous donation from the Dave and Rita Nelson Foundation, and to date, we’ve already raised more than half our goal of the projected $1.5 million facility,” Boyd said.
Project leaders hope the venue services as a perfect setting for year-round activities, such as art shows, markets and the new holiday light show.
The project is currently scheduled to start construction in late summer and could open as early as winter 2022, with a full calendar of events in 2023.
Perseverance
Quigley said though the city’s downtown lost several long-standing businesses, it added 13 new ones.
“It has been a difficult time and small businesses, by many counts, have proved to be more relevant and resilient than ever, despite the struggles and economic uncertainty they continue to face,” she said.
Ryan Kraft, chair of the De Pere Area Chamber Board of Directors, said surveys it did last fall showed promising signs with 30% reporting a net increase in sales, and only 20% reporting a decline.
Two-thirds of businesses surveyed, he said, expect growth in their businesses within the next five years.
“Businesses are positive about general economic trends,” Kraft said.
Last year, Boyd said the city approved nearly 1.8 million square feet of manufacturing and warehouse facilities, potentially totaling more than $50 million of new assessed value.
He said anticipation of the southern bridge connector project has spurred industry in the city.
“The project is monumental,” Boyd said.
Further growth
Boyd said the west side industrial park is seeing significant growth.
• A $50 million, 300,000-square-foot expansion to Green Bay Packaging’s folding cartons division promises to add 50 new jobs and $12-14 million in new value to the city.
• Bayside Machine is nearly tripling its facility.
• Georgia-Pacific’s new one-million-square-foot warehouse could be assessed at up to $30 million.
On the east side, Boyd said Belmark’s new 130,000-square-foot Plant No. 7, to house its folding carton division, will enable the company to double its production.
“That project is in coordination with the long-awaited extension of Commerce Drive to Rockland Road in anticipation of the Southern Bridge project,” Boyd said. “The city will be breaking ground on the extension in the coming months.”
In the residential market, Boyd said last year about 60 new single-family and duplex homes were built in De Pere.
He said the city also recently approved two new subdivisions, Mystic Creek, with 97 single-family lots adjacent to French Road, and Waterview Heights Fifth Addition, with 94 single-family lots, nine duplex lots, and 60 units of multifamily.
“With every new residential development comes the opportunity to free up existing homes in the De Pere housing market for families to continue to upgrade their homes in De Pere and stay within the city and school districts,” he said.
Additional highlights
• A four-story, 60-room Cobblestone Hotel & Suites is underway, along with a Wissota Chophouse on Main Avenue on the city’s west side.
• The opening of the new VFW Aquatic Facility drew hundreds of families in 2021.
• The inaugural season of the Holiday Lights Display at Voyageur Park attracted about 3,500 cars, ensuring it will return this year, Boyd said.