GREEN BAY, Wis. — Travel anywhere in the state and economic development officials will say available housing is one of the key issues they face.
The Green Bay Area Public School District and the city are in the early phases of looking at ways a pair of schools can be repurposed.
“Green Bay specifically, but nationwide as well, there’s a shortage of affordable housing,” said Laura McCoy, the president of the Green Bay Board of Education. “I know this is a priority for the city and our current board is very much interested in being part of that solution.”
Under the agreement approved by the board Monday night, the district will provide the city exclusive rights for nine months for the development of Elmore and Tank elementary schools.
Tank closed in June and Elmore is slated to close in 2026 as part of a district consolidation plan.
“The city’s goals and the district’s goals are very similar in that we want those properties to benefit our community at large,” McCoy said.
Off-camera, some residents voiced mixed feelings over the idea of developing Elmore for housing.
Larry Reed has lived a block away from the school for decades.
“My deceased wife went to that school then all four of our kids went to that school,” he said. “We’ve had some foster care kids that went to that school also over a period of time.”
Reed is okay with the school being repurposed.
“There’s no sense in leaving it empty. It’s a good building,” he said. “There’s been some upgrades to it over the years. Something like senior living might work, some sort of apartments.”
The district also agreed to swap some land with the city to clean up property lines between schools and city parks.
“This was an opportunity to finally clear that out and finally define the boundaries a little bit better and make those swaps so that going forward it won’t be so complex,” McCoy said.
