New phase starts for Younkers building:
River Center project to open in fall 2008
May 18, 2007
by Patti Zarling
pzarling@greenbaypressgazette.com
After carefully positioning a group of kids with balloons, and women and men in suits, Green Bay Mayor Jim Schmitt stepped to a podium Thursday to welcome a new development to the downtown.
As beer trucks and motorcycles roared down Washington Street, Schmitt handed keys to developer John Vetter, whose partnership now owns the former Younkers Department Store property near the corner of Washington and Pine streets. Plans for the site include the Children's Museum of Green Bay, riverfront condos, apartments and a mix of retail and possible office space.
"It's a big day for the city of Green Bay," the mayor said. "We've been working on riverfront development every day for the last four years and continue to do so."
Now the details for this project have been ironed out, Schmitt said, and redevelopment will begin June 1 with the environmental abatement of the building's interior.
The Children's Museum will buy part of what is called the River Center project for its new home, with plans to open in fall 2008.
To mark the occasion, children on Thursday dipped their hands in red paint and pressed handprints on the side of the current building. So did Schmitt.
"It is exciting to be part of a project that will be instrumental in helping to revitalize the river and bring the heart and soul back to the downtown area," said Toni Burnett of the Children's Museum.
Museum officials are in the process of talking to major donors, she said, and will continue with fundraising activities. She hesitated to cite a funding goal, saying it will depend on building, build out and exhibit costs.
And kids won’t be disappointed when the work is done, Burnett said.
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