In August, Luna Coffee Roasters told its customers it would close the café at 330 Main Avenue on September 1. The reason it gave was about work still to come. "As we look at multiple road and alley construction projects in the near future, we have decided to take a break from the downtown De Pere cafe," the post read, as WFRV reported. The business plans to turn the space into an event venue, and the Green Bay Press Gazette reported that roasting will continue at the same address. The Bellevue café is still open. "Luna lives, and the coffee continues."
That announcement read the city's schedule correctly. The west-side business blocks near St. Norbert College are not getting one big construction season. They are getting a staged rebuild that runs from 2026 into 2028. The work started in the alleys behind the storefronts and moves out to the street. Businesses on Main Avenue and Reid Street are already adjusting to that order. For anyone who walks, parks or shops there, the next eighteen months follow a calendar that is already published.
The Alley Went First, on Purpose
The current job is Project 26-14, the Main Alley Reconstruction, built by Peters Concrete Company. It covers the alley north of Main Avenue between Third and Fourth Streets, plus the short stretches of Third and Fourth between Main Avenue and that alley. The work includes new storm sewer, rebuilt pavement and a shared dumpster enclosure for the businesses on the block.
The City of De Pere says why plainly in its weekly construction update. The area "is being reconstructed in preparation for the upcoming Main Avenue work, which includes utility relay in 2027 by De Pere, and street reconstruction in 2028 by WisDOT." So the alley is the groundwork for everything that follows on Main Avenue.
The project was scheduled to run from May 15 through October 30, 2026. In the city's update for the week of October 19, concrete work was still underway. The alley stayed closed to through traffic, and some parking was allowed inside the work zone depending on where crews were working. The scheduled finish is Friday, October 30.
The Order of Work, Year by Year
With the alley finished, the rest of the sequence comes from two public agencies. They work on different streets but share one goal.
| When | Project | Who runs it | What it touches |
|---|---|---|---|
| May 15 – Oct. 30, 2026 | Main Alley Reconstruction, Project 26-14 | City of De Pere | Alley north of Main, Third to Fourth; ends of Third and Fourth Streets |
| Summer 2027 | Main Avenue utility relay | City of De Pere | Water main and services along Main Avenue, with building-access impacts and a detour |
| Fall 2027 | Nicolet Alley | City of De Pere | Alley between Reid and Main, Fourth to Third |
| 2028 | WIS 32 reconstruction | WisDOT | Main Avenue and Reid Street, Eighth Street to the Claude Allouez Bridge |
WisDOT's WIS 32 project page lists utility reconstruction and relocation in 2027, with roadway construction starting in 2028. The design it presented at an October 2025 public meeting adds curb bump-outs at Fourth and Fifth Streets on Main Avenue, a wider terrace and furniture area along Main, and bike lanes on Reid Street. It also replaces the brick terrace on Third Street with colored stamped concrete. The same page warns of long-term closures, detours and pedestrian detours, and says access to businesses and properties will be maintained. These are still plans, and details can change before construction.
Reid Street Changes Hands Mid-Schedule
The other big change on the west side sits on Reid Street, which is also part of WisDOT's 2028 project. The Abbey closed on June 22 after 52 years. On August 8, One Barrel Brewing Co. Door County confirmed plans for a De Pere taproom on the property, with an attached wine bar serving craft beer, cocktails and food, according to WFRV. The company is aiming for spring 2027. The city lists the approved renovation at 303 Reid Street.
"It's been a wild ride and we can't wait to meet our neighbors in De Pere!" the brewery's post said.
On the city's calendar, spring 2027 lands just before the Main Avenue utility relay that summer. Reid Street's own rebuild, with the planned bike lanes, follows in 2028. So the new taproom would open between two construction seasons and then face a third along its own street. Luna stepped back from Main Avenue before the work began, while One Barrel is scheduling its Reid Street opening inside the construction years.
The Nicolet Alley Decision
The next alley in line runs between Reid and Main, from Fourth to Third. At a public information meeting on July 14, 2026, city staff laid out two options.
- Reconstruction would rebuild the pavement, relay sanitary laterals, add storm sewer and rehabilitate the parking lot. It would add an 11-foot furniture zone for pedestrians. It would also remove 18 parking stalls, including during the 2028 WisDOT work.
- Rehabilitation would replace cracked concrete with asphalt, skip sewer work and rehabilitate the parking lot, with an estimated 10-year life.
The meeting materials set the alley work for fall 2027 and say access will be maintained during construction. They don't confirm which option was chosen. For Reid and Main, the choice affects how this block looks behind the storefronts: more room to walk and sit, or the same 18 parking spaces.
Where Downtown Added Room This Fall
Parking and dining capacity grew elsewhere downtown this fall while Main Avenue was dug up. On October 15, the city held the grand opening of 550 William Apartments and De Pere's first parking ramp, built on the former Shopko site. Fox 11 reported 223 stalls, including seven ADA-reserved spaces and five electric vehicle charging stalls, for residents, employees and visitors. The five-story building has 60 apartments and ground-floor commercial space. No tenants for that space have been named yet.
Mayor James Boyd described the ramp as a way to free up land. "What this does, the garage is create opportunities for the surface parking we have right now. Which we have a lot and we can look to develop other things," he told Fox 11.
A few blocks away, Café Meridian now runs the café inside the Mulva Cultural Center at 221 S. Broadway. Gina Guth and Stephanie Jamieson of The Flour Pot operate it. Press Times reported a menu of rotating salads, wraps, savory entrees and baked goods, along with Belgian pie, kolache and kringle. It's open Wednesday through Monday, 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., according to WFRV.
Broadway has a long schedule of its own. The city has scheduled the Lockside redevelopment at Broadway and Front Street for Q4 2026 through Q4 2028, with public infrastructure expected to be finished in Q2 or Q3 of 2028. The plan reconnects George Street to Front Street, adds public parking and turns part of Front Street into a pedestrian-focused space. Broadway itself is not being reconstructed as part of it.
This Winter Falls Between Two Construction Seasons
When Main Alley wraps up, Main Avenue has no city project scheduled until the utility relay in summer 2027. That makes the 2026 holiday season the last full one on the west-side blocks before crews come back. The ramp on the former Shopko site will be open all season. The Downtown De Pere calendar has these dates left:
- Sip & Shop Wine Walk, Friday, November 6, 4 to 8 p.m., with wine samples, light bites and shop deals.
- Small Business Saturday, November 28, when purchases at participating shops earn passport stamps and prize entries.
- Holiday wreath-making class at Ginger Birch, Wednesday, December 2.
- Holly Day, Saturday, December 5, 1 to 5 p.m., with Santa, story time, a scavenger hunt, a bonfire with s'mores, holiday music and activities at more than 15 shops.
- Kids' Holiday Shopping Day, Saturday, December 12, 11 a.m. to 2 p.m., with gifts at downtown shops priced at $5, $10, $15 and $20.
Event details are on the Downtown De Pere listings. The City of De Pere posts construction status in its weekly updates, and those updates will show when work on Main Avenue starts again in 2027.
If you own a home near Main Avenue or Reid Street and want to know how the 2027 and 2028 schedule could affect the timing of a sale, Sandra Ranck Real Estate Collective can walk you through it. Request a complimentary home valuation, and we'll plan your listing around the construction calendar.
