GREEN BAY - The former Eagles Club building on the city’s north side is being demolished as a first step toward developing affordable housing on the site.

During its 40-plus year history, the building at 1035 Vanderbraak St. hosted bingo, pancake breakfasts, activities for seniors, community fundraisers, vinyl record shows, concerts and other events popular with local residents.

Green Bay’s Redevelopment Authority in April approved the demolition of the property, which is located north of Vanderbraak Street, west of North Clay Street and east of North Webster Avenue.

How did the city end up owning the Eagles Club?

Bank of Luxemburg foreclosed on the property’s former owners, Zozo’s Kitchen and related businesses, in May 2020. A Brown County Circuit Court judge in summer 2020 ordered the property be sold at a sheriff’s sale.

Bank of Luxemburg was the high bidder and the judge in the case confirmed the sale on Oct. 1, 2020. After the sale, the bank offered to sell the property to the city. The Green Bay Redevelopment Authority purchased the property for $170,000 on Dec. 12, 2020, according to Wisconsin Department of Revenue real estate sales records.

Demolition wasn’t the city’s first plan

Cheryl Renier-Wigg, deputy development director for the city of Green Bay, said the city didn’t want to demolish the building at first.

Instead, she said the city talked with nonprofit partners, architects and engineers about turning the building into a community center to serve residents of the Olde North Neighborhood.

But the building was vandalized and sustained damage while it sat largely unused for several years. The cost to get the building back into usable shape would have exceeded $1 million, more money than the city could invest in the property.

The backup plan, she said, was to turn the site into housing that lower-income households could afford.

Density, range of affordability will be key

While demolition continues, city staff are drafting a request for proposals for the Eagles Club site, another RDA-owned lot just north of the demolition site and two RDA-owned lots across North Clay Street. In total, the four parcels total about 1.4 acres.

A request for proposals, or RFP, is an open call for development plans from private companies. The document lays out what the city would like to see built on the land and a timeline by which developers need to submit their plans to the city. The plans are reviewed, scored based on how they meet the RFP guidelines and then presented to the Redevelopment Authority, which then selects a plan to pursue.

For this site, Renier-Wigg said the two key elements will be affordability and density. That means housing units built are affordable to families that earn anywhere from 30% to 80% of the area’s median income and that the developer packs the site with as many units as possible.

The request for proposals is currently being finalized, but Renier-Wigg said the city should publish the request soon. She said the hope will be to get responses back by the end of summer so the city can select a developer and work out a development agreement this fall.

More: Habitat for Humanity's 14-home subdivision targets Green Bay's affordable housing crisis

Why affordable housing makes sense on the site

Renier-Wigg said the site is located near amenities that make it attractive for affordable housing. There are large workplaces, Bay View Park, Paul’s Pantry, schools, recreation centers and bus stops all a short distance from the site.

“When it’s all said and done, it will be great to see affordable housing units on that site,” Renier-Wigg said.

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Contact Jeff Bollier at (920) 431-8387 or jbollier@gannett.com. Follow him on Twitter at @JeffBollier. 

This article originally appeared on Green Bay Press-Gazette: Green Bay to seek affordable housing plans for Eagles Club site