Rep. David Steffen Proposes Green Bay Prison Replacement

Rep. David Steffen, R-Howard, plans to introduce a bill Wednesday to allow Wisconsin to pursue a contract to build a new prison that would replace the aging Green Bay Correctional Institution.

At a press conference Monday, Steffen said his bill suggests the state rent the privately built and owned facility. The new prison would be designed with input from the Wisconsin Department of Corrections, and staffed and run by the DOC, Steffen said.

Steffen said it would be cheaper in the long run to build a new facility.

“If we do nothing, status quo, we’re paying $19.7 million every single year on average to maintain that facility,” he said Monday. “If we go brand new (with) better technology, safer, out of Allouez (it would be) $15 million. So someone try to explain to me why this isn’t in the best interest of the state of Wisconsin.”

The Green Bay prison sits on roughly 60 acres of land bordering the Fox River and is adjacent to Highway 172 — appealing features to developers. Steffen’s district includes the village of Allouez, where the facility was built in 1898.

The prison, which is on both state and federal historic registries, could be preserved and re-developed into condominiums, and light-industrial and commercial uses. Allouez could then collect millions of dollars annually in property taxes. The current state-owned property is not taxed.

When asked about the proposal, Gov. Scott Walker said a new facility would “make sense” because of new monitoring technology and lower staff ratios. But Walker cautioned he would need to see the financials.

“The bottom line, though, is to make it work, we’ve got to find a way to make sure that any new future construction was offset by whatever value we get out of selling the site eventually,” Walker said.

Steffen said he would like to have a new prison built and ready for occupancy by 2022. His bill includes a provision to have it built in either Brown County, where the Green Bay prison is, or neighboring Kewaunee or Manitowoc counties.