GREEN BAY (NBC 26) — As people, we change with the times.
Green Bay developer Garritt Bader wants to keep up with the times by giving a more than 100-year-old building an updated look.
"With older buildings at times can come extensive renovation needs in order to keep them thriving, and quite frankly, keep them from being demolished," Bader said.
Bader owns the former Mikey's Pub and Bangkok Garden building in the Broadway District.
He says he wants to replace the building's three, small windows facing Broadway with storefront windows.
"Which most, modern buildings have today, of course, to encourage retail and commercial use of that space," Bader said.
The building is a former saloon, which explains why the windows are several feet above the ground.
"The saloon wanted the three, tiny windows so that people could not see what was going on inside," Bader said.
But the city's Historic Preservation Team, which works together with the Landmarks Commission, says Bader's idea goes against city code.
The spoke during Tuesday night's Common Council meeting.
"Green Bay municipal code states the removal of historic materials or alteration of features and spaces that characterize a property shall be avoided," Historic Preservation Specialist Jason Flatt said. "The proposed change does the opposite."
The building is located at 240 N. Broadway, a district that's included on the Register of Historic Places.
"Inappropriate changes in a historic district jeopardize access to tax credits," Flatt said.
After convening in closed session, the council voted to hold Bader's proposal for further discussion at another date, meaning there is no decision made on whether the former saloon will stay as it looks.
