ASHWAUBENON (NBC 26) — The NFL Draft in Green Bay begins April 24, 2025 — a deadline for owners and developers hoping to show off their new ventures to national visitors and media.
- Great North Commons, a three-story food and events space on Armed Forces Drive near Lambeau Field, is under construction and hopes to open in early April 2025
- An official with the project says the Great North building will add upwards of 100 jobs to the community
- The project, a new venture for the owners of Anduzzi's Sports Clubs and Waverly Beach Bar & Grille, will feature a pizza parlor (Pope's Pizza) on the first floor, a Tex-Mex restaurant (Cowboy Mac's Country Club) on the second, and an events space called Fire & Fir on the third
- Fire & Fir will be open to public for Packers game days, and possibly other days as demand dictates
- Ashwaubenon Village officials say projects that are not complete by April are still looking to get started by then, to show off economic development in the area
- A mixed-use (apartments, commercial, parking) development project on the corner of Cormier Road and Holmgren Way is approved to begin construction
- A mixed-use development on Mike McCarthy Way called Common Place 2 plans to break ground in the next month
- Bellin Children & Adolescent Center near Highway 172 is vertical and planning for August 2025 completion
- The Promenade, an apartment-library hybrid, is also vertical and expecting mid-summer completion
- Construction on new fitness center in the Titletown district is well under way, but the Packers did not give an update on its completion date
- Video shows renderings of the Great North Commons building
(The following is a transcription of the full broadcast story)
With just half a year until the NFL Draft, developers are working to get their projects moving and completed.
This three-story restaurant is one construction project that's all hands on deck.
At least 50 workers are here from the early morning until the evening, turning this lot into a three-story events space — to be named "Great North Commons."
Operations officer Mac Cisar says the building will feature a pizza parlor on the first floor, Tex-Mex food on the second and an events space on the third.
"It's been a kind of a long-term work in progress," Cisar said, "and still a stretch to go before we get the finish line, but we're obviously super excited to get things ready to roll for April."
Great North is one of several developments well underway in Ashwaubenon. The Village says even projects that will not be finished by the Draft — like the new library branch on Cormier Road, or the apartment building planned for Holmgren Way — are trying to show progress by April.
"When you see development like that, it really creates an image of vibrancy," Village Manager Joel Gregozeski. "You know, [like], 'there's a lot of economic development and activity in this community.'"
Gregozeski says the Village is also working on beautifying areas like the area adjacent to Cabela's on Lombardi Avenue near Interstate 41, removing invasive species.
"I think we'll be ready," he said. "This community is going to be ready to really showcase itself to the world."
Cisar just hopes his restaurant can get its legs underneath it by Draft time.
"Thankfully, we've been able to work proactively to make sure that everything gets delivered on time with enough lead time for, obviously, installation," he said. "So far, so good.
Great North Commons is planning for an April 2025 opening — just before the Draft — if construction stays on schedule.
