GREEN BAY (NBC 26) — A Foxconn spokesperson confirms with NBC 26 that the company is selling the WaterMark building on Pine Street in downtown Green Bay.
"With ongoing business activities taking place within Foxconn's Science and Technology Park in Mount Pleasant WI, Foxconn is concentrating its focus on the Park. We anticipate a successful transaction of the Watermark property will add the vibrancy of Green Bay's downtown community."
"I mean, I don't think anybody's surprised by that, given what happened in Southern Wisconsin," Matt Askins of Allouez said. "But, surely disappointed. I mean, the jobs that were promised would've been neat."
The spokesperson declined to provide details about potential buyers of the property.
Foxconn pledged to bring hundreds of jobs to the downtown area when it bought the six-floor property in 2018. A year later, NBC 26 reported the building wasn't seeing much activity.
City of Green Bay Senior Economic Development Specialist Matt Buchanan said the proposal included office space for the company.
"Unfortunately, those plans never materialized," Buchanan said. "So, we're looking forward to the next chapter, instead."
The WaterMark building currently houses four businesses: The Creamery, Broken Spoke Bike Studio, ISG, and C.H. Robinson. The Creamery and Broken Spoke Bike Studio are on the first floor, ISG is on the third floor, and C.H. Robinson is on the fifth floor. Downtown Green Bay, Inc. Executive Director Jeff Mirkes tells NBC 26 that the second, fourth, and sixth floors are vacant.
According to CBRE Group, the building's real estate company, the sale price of the building is listed for $9.75 million.
"It's a terrific property," Buchanan said. "It's right on CityDeck. It's right on the Fox River in the heart of our downtown. So, it's a tremendous opportunity for somebody new to come in and make better use of the building."
Askins said he'd like to see the empty floors filled with public spaces.
"Shoppies, restaurants," Askins said.
Foxconn leased part of its property on 301 N. Washington St. to a football bowling bar called 1st and Bowl last year. But the business permanently closed in May after its lease expired. 1st and Bowl's co-owner said it was due to issues with the building's HVAC system and slower business.
The Children's Museum of Green Bay formerly occupied where 1st and Bowl was, but it moved to a new location on Bay Beach Road in 2019.
In Southern Wisconsin, Foxconn originally agreed to invest $10 billion and hire 13,000 workers. But since, that has been scaled back.
