DE PERE (NBC 26) — A De Pere-based company is in the process of acquiring 22.5 acres of land from the city to build 500,000 square feet of development over two buildings.
- AmeriLux International showed plans to develop 2000 Commerce Drive into manufacturing and trucking space, in a proposal presented at last week's Finance and Personnel Committee meeting
- The city would use money from Tax Increment District No. 17 to contribute a $6.2 million grant to the project, if approved by the full City Council
- The TID was created in part to help facilitate the development of the South Bridge Connector across the Fox River
- AmeriLux says it plans to expand its workforce — currently 235 employees — by 60-100 to staff the new facility
- Video shows AmeriLux's current operation
(The following is a transcription of the full broadcast story)
We're on Commerce Drive, where a company plans to build 500,000 feet of warehouse space in less than two years.
The city is selling this land to De Pere-based AmeriLux International.
AmeriLux is a distributor of materials that eventually become things like these translucent wall panels — or pieces of garage doors and semi-trucks.
"With the rounded off edges, it now becomes flexible," Joe Nick says.
The company plans to build two warehouses here, for manufacturing and trucking.
CEO Kurt Coss says it will add jobs in De Pere.
"We're going to grow the employee base significantly," Voss said. "We've estimated between 60 and 100 employees [we] will have to grow, to accommodate this new facility."
Last week the City of De Pere dinance committee recommended approval of the purchase — and $6.2 million in grant money.
"The residents aren't at risk, for the most part, because we'll recoup those grants over the life of the TID," Mayor James Boyd said. "And generally, we almost always do."
The city says the investment is good for business growth near the future bridge over the Fox River — which is set to be built by 2030.
"Assigning a certain percentage of the revenue generated by these businesses to help fund the Southern Bridge project — this is right in line with those key goals," Development Services Director Dan Lindstrom said.
The AmeriLux CEO says his business has been a part of De Pere's industrial growth since its beginning.
"We started from scratch in 2004," Voss said. "Really proud of that. And the team that we've assembled is the thing I'm most proud of."
Voss says AmeriLux plans to break ground here by August 1 and hopes to have the new warehouses operating no later than January 1, 2026.
