News Photo by Michael Gonzalez Aspen Haus Contracting worker Michael Segorski works on renovating the former Gen-Ar’s Restaurant on Ripley Boulevard on Thursday.

ALPENA — The Alpena U.S. Fish and Wildlife Services office is moving locations to two locations on Ripley Boulevard by the end of August.

Scott Koproski, project leader of the office, said the current Fish and Wildlife building on Fletcher Street was meant to hold nine employees. Currently, the agency has 20 employees.

The Fletcher Street office was established in 1992, meaning the agency is moving after 31 years.

“We had a much smaller staff when we started out,” Koproski said. “Well, over the years, it’s increased and we’ve really outgrown the space we have.”

Fish and Wildlife’s office will move to the former Gen-Ar’s Restaurant on Ripley Boulevard. The agency will also have a separate storage space on the corner of West Campbell Street and South Ripley Street for boats and other equipment.

Renovations remain underway on two U.S. Fish and Wildlife Services locations, but the agency’s lease on the Fletcher Street building ends Aug. 30.

Koproski said Fish and Wildlife doesn’t have a specific date when the new offices will open, but the agency will move out of the old space before the lease ends.

Gen-Ar’s Restaurant closed Dec. 4, 2020, and nothing’s happened with the building since.

This story has been updated to reflect that U.S. Fish and Wildlife has been housed at its current Fletcher Street office for 31 years. That information was incorrect in an earlier version of this story.