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Committee approves hiring ISG to finish Lake Memorial Park engineering; revised pavilion design raises costs
Summary
The Parks Committee approved hiring ISG to complete engineering and bid documents for a revised shelter, stage and beer-garden concept at Lake Memorial Park; staff said the revised design would increase engineering fees and construction costs, to be covered by TID 5 funds that must be spent by December 2026.
The Green Bay Parks Committee approved a proposal to hire ISG to complete engineering and bid documents for revised shelter and stage designs at Lake Memorial Park, including a reworked beer-garden concept and a sculptural pavilion intended to match a recently designed stage.
Parks staff presented two options: finish engineering on the original, functional shelter design or proceed with a newly preferred, more sculptural design. Staff said the city has already spent roughly $244,000 on engineering to date. ISG’s estimate to finish the original design’s engineering was $224,400; the estimate to complete engineering and specifications for the revised concept was $505,000, meaning roughly $280,000 in additional design fees for the redesign, staff said.
The committee heard that construction cost estimates also differ. Staff provided preliminary construction estimates of about $3.2 million for the original design versus about $3.6 million for the revised pavilion—approximately $400,000 more for the sculptural version. Staff said financing for either path would come from Tax Increment District 5 (TID 5), which the city must close out in December 2026.
The parks director said the revised design moves the rentable shelter area so it does not block river views, repositions restrooms and concessions for a better public experience, and adds an upper and lower beer garden area with circulation staircases. “We settled on this concept being our preferred concept. It really met all the criteria,” the director said, explaining staff believes the new design better matches the stage and will function as a civic landmark.
Alder Johnson and others said the revised design better addresses earlier critiques that the previous shelter felt “underwhelmed” and that a high-visibility site should have a more distinctive design. The parks fund-raising representative said the city has secured $350,000 in donations so far and paused fundraising while the design was revised to avoid selling a vision that might change.
Committee members pressed staff on schedule and funding constraints. The director said both engineering options could meet the TID spending deadline of December 2026, but acknowledged the timeline is aggressive. Staff emphasized that some elements—specifically stairs down to the water—depend on fundraising and would be phased. ISG’s proposed scope calls for final engineered drawings and bid-ready specifications divided into three construction contracts, including soil remediation first.
The committee approved the contract authorization to proceed with the ISG engineering scope on a motion by Alder Wery and a second by Alder DeWitt. Staff recommended the revised design and said the engineering fee aligns with standard engineering percentages relative to overall construction costs.
Next steps: staff will authorize ISG to proceed under the contract terms to finalize engineering and bid documents and will continue fundraising and coordination with the RDA and other partners to fund remaining construction phases. TID 5 funding remains the principal local funding source for engineering and initial construction work; staff said the finance director verified sufficient TID 5 funds are available for the selected scope.
