Plan Commission accepts year-end financial reports for four downtown BIDs; On Broadway reports large visitor counts

The Green Bay Plan Commission on March 23 received and accepted year-end financial reports from four downtown business improvement districts (BIDs) — Downtown Green Bay, Old Main Street, Broadway and Military Avenue — and forwarded the items to City Council for final action on April 21.

Rebecca Finkel, the city's economic development specialist, introduced the BID presenters and explained bids must report to the commission annually. Jeff Marcus, executive director for Downtown Green Bay and Old Main Street, said BID assessments generated roughly $265,000 from downtown property owners and about $67,000 from the Old Main Street district in 2025 and that BID funds were used for events, marketing and beautification. "We received BID money in the amount of $265,000 roughly from the property owners in the downtown district and about $67,000 in the Old Main Main Street district," Marcus said.

Barney Johnson, executive director of the Broadway BID/On Broadway, highlighted programming and capital campaigns — including a "light park" pavilion project for which On Broadway has raised about $1.5 million toward a $5 million target — and reported visitor metrics for the Broadway district in 2025: "732,000 unique visitors, a total of 2,600,000 trips," Johnson said. He also noted volunteer program hours (~5,000 annually) and grant-funded pilot work to unlock local capital for redevelopment.

Rebecca Finkel presented the Military Avenue BID report for absent director Leah Weicker and described a strong 2025 with roughly $104,000 in BID assessments and about $331,000 in total revenues that exceeded budget projections (driven in part by events tied to the NFL Draft). Finkel and county/city staff also described a capital campaign for a year-round market facility, renamed Harvest Hall, and summarized private pledges, tax-increment assistance and city contributions of park land and maintenance commitments.

Each study was accepted by motion and second; the items will go to City Council for final action on April 21. Commissioners asked questions about specific storefronts, redevelopment prospects (Watermark/301 Building; Chase Bank/Station 501), the proposed light‑park capital stack and how BID funds are apportioned between operating and capital projects. Speakers emphasized that event-driven revenue and grants helped BIDs leverage assessments in 2025.