Much has been made of recent events related to the fate of the old grain elevator on Sturgeon Bay’s west side waterfront. Some reports have said the 117-year old granary has been saved, although there are several hurdles that must be crossed before the structure is put in place. For instance, supporters must get permission from the Department of Transportation in order to move the granary across the Maple/Oregon Street Bridge to a suggested site off 1st Avenue and near Graham Park. The American Transmission Company must sign off on passage of power lines along the route. Then developer Peter Moede must approve a plan to use his property for the grain elevator. He’s given proponents of the idea 60 to 90 days to come up with a plan or remove the elements of the structure. If approval comes from Moede, the project would have to brought to a committee and, ultimately, the city council for approval. Finally, while a significant amount of funding can be tapped into to restore the structure, some estimates indicate that it could take double that amount to get the job done. So, while it’s safe to say that progress has been made in breaking the impasse over the fate of the old building, there’s a long way to go before the structure resumes a prominent role on the city’s waterfront.
