By Heather Graves
Editor
GREEN BAY – The former Bertrand’s Sporting Goods store on North Broadway, which closed in 2014, could soon undergo a redevelopment effort, potentially bringing new tenants to the Broadway District.
Barsan Corporation President Filip Barsan, the developer behind the project, said the site is being revitalized for commercial use and will “boast many interior and exterior upgrades with occupancy dates as soon as February 2023.”
Barsan said redevelopment on the property is expected to begin as early as summer 2022, with work being done in phases, the first being the roof.
“We’ve already been working on this for the last year,” he said. “So, we’ve developed a pretty thorough set of plans for construction, and we can launch it this summer. There’s a different approach with the construction, because we actually start from the top and go down the existing structure. So we will start with the roof and kind of work around it, then windows and the patio on the front.”
On Broadway, Inc. Executive Director Brian Johnson said “this is something that we’ve been working on with Filip for probably a year.”
“With a lot of development, you have to kind of propose a vision and get people excited…,” he said. “I think the real question for him is whether he is going to proceed with building it out as a spec property, meaning without tenants, or proceed after he secures the tenants.”
Barsan said “we are kind of doing both.”
“We will continue developing it,” he said. “We kind of evolve along the way. But I guess there’s different approaches on the interior when you renovate new structures. You don’t have to fully build a model until you have the exterior, we can actually do all of it.”
Johnson said it was hoped the project announcement would have happened during the State of the Broadway District event held in February, but the project wasn’t quite ready to go public.
“I appreciate the vision for that area, and in terms of what he’s trying to achieve there,” he said. “And, you know, like any major redevelopment project, at some point, you have to get people on site interested to fill the space. And that’s what allows you to do the construction.”
Barsan said since acquiring the Bertrand’s building in January 2021, a master plan was developed, and Barsan Construction began making incremental improvements including asbestos remediation throughout and demolition of non-structural buildouts.
He said the plans include renovating the entire structure into retail and office space with the potential to add additional stories if deemed necessary, with total project costs estimated around $2.5 million.
Barsan said he already has interested tenants.
“We do have tenants interested right now,” he said. “So a part of it will be developed, as these tenants need the space. We’re going to announce a few tenants that are moving into the building May 3. And we will also announce the commercial leasing agency that (interested tenants) will get in contact with for leasing.”
Barsan said he’s excited to be part of the Broadway District.
“We’ve actually been a small part in other (projects) in this area for the last five years,” he said. “So throughout that time, we’ve just kind of purchased some stuff and continued developing it and it seems to be growing.”
Additionally, Barsan said he will soon announce proposed redevelopment of the 500 N Broadway block, with potential underground and above-ground parking between the two projects, in addition to existing on-street parking.
“These projects we are proposing represent the north entry to the rejuvenated Broadway corridor,” he said.
The Barsan Corporation is also behind the proposed construction of an 84-unit, 12-story condominium to be built on the corner of Holmgren Way and Mike McCarthy Way in Ashwaubenon.