Housing authority approves bond resolution to launch financing for mixed fire station and 85-unit affordable project

The Green Bay Housing Authority voted to approve an initial resolution to begin housing revenue bond financing for the Gencap Green Bay Fire Station Apartments, a combined fire station and affordable housing project that developers described as a roughly $30,500,000 undertaking. The board approved the resolution by voice vote after developers presented the project and answered questions from staff and commissioners.

Developer representative Sykes Scott Manis said the plan pairs a new Fire Station No. 1 with an 85-unit affordable housing building intended to frame a gateway into the Shipyard District. "The overall project is 30,500,000.0," Manis said while outlining the financing layers. David Rice of General Capital added that the initial resolution is a procedural step to allow the bonding process to move forward: "We are incurring costs now that would be eligible to be included in the bond financing," he said.

Developers said the housing portion will rely on a layered capital stack that includes a first mortgage, tax-credit equity, soft sources and the housing authority bond authority. They described an affordability mix using tax-credit income-averaging: some units may be rented up to 80% of area median income (AMI) while the portfolio average remains below 60% AMI. The team said rent ranges for some two-bedroom units were roughly $1,100 to $1,400 and that heat will be included in rent estimates.

The presentation also noted accessibility and federal compliance features tied to financing: developers said the project would include fully adaptable units and UFAS/Section 504-compliant elements such as lower countertops, accessible switches and visual strobes for certain fire alarms. They also said the development had been allocated eight project-based vouchers from the Brown County Housing Authority for one-bedroom units; the remaining units would be rent-restricted under the tax-credit rules and screened for income qualification.

Presiding officer closed the floor to discussion and moved to approve the initial resolution (referred to in the meeting as resolution number 252025Dash4). The motion was seconded and passed by voice vote. The resolution authorizes staff and counsel to continue the bond financing process; it does not itself issue bonds or commit the authority to a final financing until later, more detailed actions are taken.

Next steps noted by the developer team include continued schematic design with the fire department, finalizing the capital stack through 2026 and coordinating tax-credit and bonding timelines. The board asked no substantive follow-up questions after the vote and the developers thanked members before the meeting moved to informational items.