Merge Urban Development Group Counter-sues City

The Iowa firm filed its formal answer to the city's lawsuit late Monday, denying it defaulted on the riverfront development deal and arguing the site was never "build ready" to begin with.¹

Green Bay and its Redevelopment Authority sued Merge in Brown County Circuit Court on July 23, claiming the developer defaulted back in March on an agreement to build a mixed-use apartment complex along the Fox River.² The suit says Merge never lined up financing, never broke ground, and never hit the assessed-value benchmark the deal required, even after the city gave written notice and multiple chances to fix it. The city wants its 5.6-acre property back, plus damages.²

The deal goes back to 2021, when the city council approved Merge's plan for a $21 million, 225-unit project with ground-floor retail.⁴ Green Bay sold the land for a single dollar after sinking more than $1 million into site prep, betting the project would add at least $15 million in new taxable value.³ Construction was supposed to start in 2022 and wrap by the end of 2025. Neither happened, and the deadline got pushed twice before the city and Merge started arguing over a third extension this past February.⁵

Merge's response points the finger right back at City Hall. The filing says the city and RDA never finished redesigning Arndt Street, one of the roads bordering the site, and never delivered final grading plans showing how the property connects to it.¹ Under the 2021 agreement, those street upgrades were the city's job, not Merge's.⁴ Merge says that left the firm holding a lot it couldn't build on, and it's now counter-suing for $671,173.02 in costs it blames on the delay, tallied through mid-June.¹

Merge wants the case dismissed. The city hasn't filed its reply yet, and no hearing is on the calendar. The rest of the Shipyard site isn't waiting around for the lawyers. The council voted Aug. 18 to award 8Pine a $13.35 million contract for the project's second phase, a park with a dog park, splash pad and river overlook.⁶ Looks like the picnic tables might beat the apartments to the finish line.