GREEN BAY (WLUK) — A popular parking lot in downtown Green Bay will soon no longer be an option.
While some businesses are concerned about losing Adams Street parking, others are optimistic it won’t be an issue and are excited about what’s to come.
We will be closing next Thursday, November 21st.
Construction will begin next month on an eight-story, 268-unit luxury apartment building to replace the site.
“When it’s busy, especially on a Friday night, you know it’s packed,” said Amanda Fields, who works at Ned Kelly’s Pub.
Mr. Fields worries that some businesses may not be able to survive the nearly two-year construction process on what will soon be a former parking lot.
“What we’re trying to do here is just going to cause problems for the businesses that are here, because most people don’t want to be in a construction zone,” Fields said. “They don’t want to park in a construction zone.”
“I think by this point we’ve probably realized that it’s not as bad as we thought it was,” said Noah Jenkin, community business coordinator for Lion’s Mouth Bookstore.
Jenkin feels the long-term benefits of bringing more people downtown far outweigh the short-term pain. The bookstore posted a reminder on its social media pages that while the 122 parking spots on Adams Street will be eliminated, there will still be more than 4,000 spots available in the downtown area.
“The parking ramp is right across the street,” Jenkin said. “There are empty spots on the street. You’re going to miss the parking right there, but I don’t see that as a negative in any way.”
Ramp parking is more affordable than most on-street metered parking lots. This is a strategy to keep these parking lots available to businesses. $1 for $1.10 per hour.
Green Bay Public Works Director Steve Grenier said the city leases enough parking to fill about half of the city’s available ramp and surface parking lots, or 2,059 of the 4,320 spaces. .
Historically, however, rental space has been occupied during off-peak hours for bars and restaurants.
