BCUW Named New Partner for City East Development

News Release
2/23/2023

Brown County United Way Named New Partner for City East Development
The agency will collaborate with the City of Green Bay, the Wisconsin Housing & Economic Development Authority (WHEDA) and Mosaic Development.

GREEN BAY— Brown County United Way (BCUW) was announced as the newest partner in Green Bay’s City East Development. This public private partnership enables the nonprofit to work with local government, housing developers and community organizations to further its mission of uniting people, ideas, and resources to co-create community solutions that strengthen residents of Brown County.

BCUW believes that ‘Place Matters.’ Through its Thriving Neighborhoods Initiative, BCUW identified four neighborhoods (Downtown, Joannes Park, Navarino and Whitney Park) for its targeted investment to support and build thriving neighborhoods that have been under-resourced, vulnerable, or at-risk. In March 2022, through the leadership and support of Senator Tammy Baldwin, $1 million was included in the bipartisan Omnibus Appropriations Bill for FY 2022 to establish a neighborhood community space that would become a central location for neighborhood residents to gather, support and learn from each other. The $1 million appropriation combined with local funding has accelerated this crucial next step in the initiative.

“This is a match made in heaven,” said Mayor Eric Genrich. “Rooting the Brown County United Way’s programs, services, and employees within our neighborhoods is a win-win for their organization and for our community members, and we are thrilled to be able to bring them together in this way.”

In May 2022, Mayor Genrich connected BCUW with MF Housing Partners, a joint venture between Mosaic Development and Fore Development, that desired to collaborate with a nonprofit organization to establish an onsite facility offering residents programming and services for its City East development. “We are thrilled and proud to offer direct access to United Way’s programming through this innovative new marriage of community services and housing,” says Marissa Downs, Principal at Mosaic Development. The development will provide 43 mixed housing units in the 1100 block of East Walnut Street in the Joannes Park neighborhood.

“The City East Center will help ensure that all residents have community support to provide opportunities for economic growth, employment security, social connectedness, empowerment, and self-advocacy. We are grateful to be included in this public private partnership to further Green Bay’s goals for positively promoting affordable housing development and strengthening the City’s neighborhoods,” said Robyn Davis, BCUW’s president and CEO.

City East aligns with Green Bay’s goals for positively promoting affordable housing development and facilitating a product corresponding to the City’s 2020 Housing Market Study.

“Green Bay is a champion for affordable housing. We see strong collaboration across the public, private and nonprofit sectors, and United Way’s contribution is the latest evidence of that,” said Jon Searles, WHEDA’s Community & Economic Development Officer. “As for WHEDA, we are proud to have supported the project through a highly competitive federal 9% Housing Tax Credit award that will generate more than $6.1 million in equity. We look forward to joining all partners to be part of City East’s future.”

Today’s announcement was attended by Green Bay’s Mayor Eric Genrich, Marissa Downs, Principal at Mosaic Development, Jon Searles, WHEDA’s Community & Economic Development Officer, and Robyn Davis, President/CEO of BCUW.

About Brown County United Way: Founded in 1925, Brown County United Way (BCUW) is a center for community-based strategies. Through direct fundraising, grant-making, community mobilization, and advocacy efforts, Brown County United Way leverages its organizational resources and deep local partnerships to advance targeted community solutions. With the help of more than 500 community volunteers from all community sectors, Brown County United Way is dedicated to finding solutions to the community’s most pressing human services issues.