A City Reconnected
August 17, 2026
A downtown with a heart
During Jim Schmitt’s tenure, Green Bay connected downtown planning with housing, retail, and public riverfront space.
Downtown has to work every day. It should give people a reason to live near the center of the city, do business there, spend time by the river, and take part in community life.
During Jim Schmitt’s tenure, Green Bay put a long-range downtown plan in place to guide public improvements and redevelopment. The plan came out of a public process and treated the city center as a connected place, where streets, riverfront access, homes, workplaces, historic character, and public space all matter together.
That approach showed up in visible projects. CityDeck created a public boardwalk and gathering space along the Fox River. The Metreau added 107 downtown apartments, first-floor retail, and amenities connected to the riverfront boardwalk. These were different projects, but they reinforced the same idea: a stronger downtown is built by making the center of the city more useful to the people who live, work, and spend time there.
That is the standard worth carrying forward: steady investment in a downtown that is active, connected, and built for everyday Green Bay.
Why this still matters
A strong downtown is practical: it connects housing, jobs, local businesses, public space, and the riverfront.