Green Bay developer tours Old Hospital

OCONTO COUNTY – Drury Designs Chief Executive Officer Pat Drury toured the Old Hospital building in Oconto with two architects and will likely return for a second visit, said Teresa Bake, chair of the Old Hospital Ad Hoc Committee at a Sept. 17 meeting.

Two other developers that had expressed preliminary interest have backed away from the project, Bake said. “Mr. Drury said he would likely be scheduling another tour in October,” she said.

Mayor Cliff Martin, who is a member of the ad hoc committee, said Drury seemed to be the only one who expressed high interest in the project. “When he comes back, he wanted to bring people interested in investing and working with him on the project,” Martin said.

Drury Designs is a Green Bay-area construction firm with expertise in historic preservation. Drury served as historic renovator of the Oconto Historical Society’s library at its museum. The firm didn’t respond to a reporter’s request for comment by press time.

The building likely will need significant repairs to the seawall or a new one constructed, the ad hoc committee said.

An asbestos study was completed, but wasn’t received in time to be discussed at the meeting, City Administrator Brittney Burruel said.

Concerns about asbestos and water damage to the building have kept other developers who expressed interest in the past from pursuing plans to renovate the historic building, the city said.

With Bake and Dave Retzlaff, two members of the Oconto Society Board who also are married to each other, leading the Old Hospital Ad Hoc Committee as the chair and vice chair, the committee’s discussions have focused on preserving the building, not demolishing it.

Across the county in Oconto Falls, the school board came to a different conclusion regarding what to do with Washington School, which the Oconto Falls Historical Society expressed interest in using part of to display its collection. Instead, the school board agreed to proceed with the building’s demolition.

Adam Moede of Suring also has expressed interest in preserving the building and using it as a ghost hunting location, but the committee didn’t discuss this proposal at its most recent meeting.

Moede has volunteered with Fox Valley Ghost Hunters, which uses old buildings for its events. Craig Nehring, founder at Fox Valley Ghost Hunters, told a reporter, “You can’t have asbestos that’s deteriorating and mold. That’s something you have to get rid of because you don’t want the general public to get sick. Different cities have different ordinances.”