GREEN BAY (NBC 26) — Back in May, the city's newest luxury apartment building, Nova Apartments, was approved to be built just steps away from the front entrance of the Spring Lake Church.
Now, with the groundbreaking on the horizon, the church is adjusting to the inevitable.
(The following is a transcription of the full broadcast story)
As work on Christmas decorations continues inside Spring Lake Church, outside, more work is underway.
"Overall, our sentiment is that we're really excited," Spring Lake Church downtown pastor Bill Van Kirk, said.
Pastor Van Kirk said he had concerns about the construction of the Nova Apartments. Now, he's optimistic about the new project.
"In the end, I feel like the city responded to us and we were able to come and focus on what's best for downtown Green Bay," Van Kirk said.
Thursday a groundbreaking ceremony will officially mark the beginning of construction on a 268-unit luxury apartment building downtown.
It will replace the parking lot at the corner of Cherry St. and Adams St., which was a primary parking location for the church.
"We've lost probably four to five spaces that were ADA accessible spaces in the parking and those were not and have not been replaced yet by the city anywhere," Kirk said.
Green Bay's deputy development director Matt Buchanan said the city meets with local groups to address any concerns.
The city and church have met multiple times throughout the past several months.
"That comes along with any major development opportunity in the downtown (area), so I think we were able to put a lot of those concerns to rest," Buchanan said.
Pastor Van Kirk said the church needs to make big adjustments such as building new entrances to the church.
Van Kirk said the church applied for a city facade grant for construction of the new entrance and Buchanan said the city is reviewing the application.
He said they are also focused on replacing the handicap spots they lost.
Pastor Van Kirk addressed the misconception about the tension between the city and the church.
"Being concerned doesn't mean we are against anybody," Pastor Van Kirk said. "We really love the community we're in and we're going to serve anybody who comes here and love them the best we can."
The city will hold a groundbreaking ceremony Thursday at 1 p.m.
Meanwhile, the church said it continues to wait for approval on the facade grant.
