Block 41 Redevelopment Project

As of the writing of this post, the 4th Avenue Theater has been completely demolished, and demolition of the neighboring Adams Building, another building that has stood for many decades, has begun. For those who have not been keeping up with the news and are wondering what the demolitions are all about, it is part of a $200 million dollar redevelopment project being called "Block 41" by the developer, Peach Holdings LLC. The new development is to include Class A office space, retail, a hotel, housing, parking, and entertainment venues. 

Though artist renderings of the project were unveiled last spring, an article from Alaska Public Media confirms that the final architectural design is yet to be decided. This comes as no surprise as the renderings that were unveiled, displayed above, feature both the 4th Avenue Theater and the Adams Building beneath what looks to be a four-story structure (an official floor count has thus far not been given, from what I can tell). This initially caused confusion as some on social media speculated that this meant the theater was not going to be demolished after all. Of course, we now know that preserving the theater or at least the facade was not part of the plan. But with the developer saying that "elements" of the theater will be recreated, it has left people guessing as to the final design. We do know that the neon letters of the theater's marquee were taken down and stored away before demolition commenced. Whether the letters will be brought back for a new sign remains to be seen.

In all, every building on this block — except for the former Key Bank tower, which is presently undergoing refurbishment — will be demolished. Downtown Anchorage has not seen a demolition site at this scale since the 1980s, when whole blocks were demolished to make way for numerous redevelopment projects, including Town Square, the 5th Avenue Mall, and the ARCO tower. Before the '80, demolitions sites at this scale were last seen in the aftermath of the 1964 Good Friday earthquake. 

Demolition has started on the Adams Building

As I shared in my last post on this subject, I'm quite shocked that the developer went ahead with demolishing the 4th Avenue Theater in its entirety. It was very jarring to see the half-demolished theater in person when I went to visit the site late last summer. I never had a chance to watch a movie in that building, so I don't have any sentimental memories of the place, but nonetheless it was shocking to see it in its torn-up state. You think you are prepared to see it half demolished, but you really are not. I think it's safe to say my shock is over the fact that this was the most notable and famous building in all of Anchorage. And that's why this project is a gamble. 

I can understand demolishing the building but saving the facade. Countless projects across the globe have made use of old facades and incorporated them into new buildings. To demolish the theater in its entirety is a very gutsy move. It will be interesting to see what ultimately gets built, but unfortunately, I think future generations will look at whatever is built and bemoan the fact that the theater, with its ornate Art Deco architecture that stood out from a sea of '80s office buildings and utilitarian strip malls, was demolished to make way for whatever replaces it. 

A new tower (left) will replace the First National Building

I wish this project all the success it can get. As an urbanist, I'm a fan of new projects, and I love to see construction cranes in the air. Indeed, I am one of those who thinks a high-rise building is more attractive during its construction phase, with all its steel beams exposed to the elements before the curtain wall is installed. The worst-case scenario is that the project stalls and a giant parking lot in the heart of downtown Anchorage is all the city has to show for it. It certainly would not help the current mayor's legacy, a legacy that is already tarnished by resignations and investigations. Here's to hoping Block 41 really does bring life to this part of downtown.  

Demolition of the 4th Avenue Theater now Underway

The city of Anchorage is now witnessing what will undoubtable go down as the most significant — and controversial — demolition work in the city's more-than-100-year history. Demolition work at the 4th Avenue Theater is now fully underway as part of a larger redevelopment project being overseen by Peach Holdings LLC — which, in addition to the historic theater, now owns every property on the block. The demolition puts an end to a decades-long battle to preserve and restore the building.  

While much of the artwork and other artifacts inside the theater will be taken down and transferred to the city, the building itself is to be demolished entirely. According to the building's owners and city officials, internal structural problems were too severe to warrant a full restoration of the Art Deco-styled building. Issues concerning asbestos and lead were also brought up by the mayor, Dave Bronson. Additionally, Peach Holdings LLC states that restoring the Lathrop Building — the official name of the building housing the theater — back into operation as a theater or other similar use did not pencil out. However, Trish Neal, board president of the Alaska Association for Historic Preservation, disagrees about the building being in such poor condition and told Alaska Public Media in an interview that the opinions of structural engineers vary widely. 

As for my take, I just want to write that I'm actually quite surprised that the entire building is coming down. In May, when Peach Holdings LLC unveiled their sweeping redevelopment project to the press, it was speculated afterward on social media that a portion of the theater, or perhaps just the facade, would be preserved. This speculation was due to the 4th Avenue Theater appearing seemingly untouched in the renderings for the new development. And a number of years ago, the owners made a slight reference to the possibility of the building being gutted of the actual theater space while disguising its new use by maintaining the facade. I therefore assumed that this was to be the case following the announcement of this new project. As of now, it is reported that the theater's facade will be knocked down, and a reconstruction of the facade will take its place — it's something I find a bit bizarre. Projects around the world have creatively preserved and utilized old facades for the ground level of new high-rise buildings — a new project doing just that is about to get underway in Seattle — so I don't see why the same could not be done with the Lathrop Building. 

This project is going to be quite a gamble, and I am quite nervous about how this will pan out. As alluded to earlier, the Lathrop Building is just one of several buildings to be demolished. The Adams Building next door will also be razed, as will the two-story building that once housed Woolworth's. First National Bank, which is next to the former theater, will have to vacate its premises after being at the same location for more than 50 years. Apparently, the owners of Cabin Fever had held out and refused purchase offers from Peach Holdings for its two-story building at the corner of 4th Avenue and G Street. Ultimately, however, a deal was made, and Cabin Fever along with an adjoining business will be moving across the street to recently vacated space. The nine-story First National Building will also be demolished, with plans calling for it to be replaced with a new high-rise of similar height.

I think I'll go ahead and wait until construction begins on the new redevelopment project before I discuss more about it. For now, this is about the 4th Avenue Theater. I have been going past the old theater every week since this summer, and it was this morning that I saw the theater in its current half-demolished form. Its mutilated appearance is quite grisly, and it actually hurt to see the building looking the way it does now. The thick concrete that makes up the building is going to make for a slow-going demolition, I guess. All I can think of is the unfortunate circumstances the theater, and the city, found itself in. Sitting largely abandoned since 1982, there are adults today entering middle-age who have never had the opportunity to step inside the theater. But nobody walks down 4th Avenue or the surrounding streets anymore — it's a product of the automobile age and suburbanization. Downtown needs new investment. But the argument, of course, is how that new investment should be handled. From now, it will be up to Anchoragites and visitors to Anchorage in 50 years, in 100 years, to decide whether demolition of the 4th Avenue Theater was worth it. 
 

Well-known Local Retail Moves Into Downtown Anchorage

Fire Island Rustic Bakeshop, a popular family-owned bakery that has been in operation for just over a decade, has completed the move to its new location at 718 K Street in downtown Anchorage. Located in a former medical clinic, the bakery will later be joined by Johnny's Produce, a shop that serves smoothies as well as fresh produce. Also moving into the building are La Bodega, a wine and liquor store with a loyal customer following, and That Feeling Co., a cafe that also sells houseplants. A physical therapy office is also expected to later join in what is being called the K Street Market. I'm quite astonished that this many businesses will be housed in one single-story building, but nevertheless, this is very promising news for this portion of downtown.

For those unfamiliar with the area, the building is located at the corner of K Street and 7th Avenue in a portion of downtown that is bordered by three major thoroughfares. While the three-lane one-way thoroughfares that make up the perimeter are bustling with fast-moving traffic, the area within this eight-block portion of downtown is characterized by its quiet two-way streets and unassuming businesses. It's an area that is ripe with potential for residential development in the core of the city. I have long identified this area as being a great candidate for such development, as has the city, as seen by the construction of Elizabeth Place, an apartment building that was built with financial help from the municipality three years ago. But while the opening of Elizabeth Place was a significant marker of achievement for the area, the opening of K Street Market is equally significant.

Until now, this area was known for housing small law firms and other non-public-facing businesses. But in order to attract residents, retail needs to have a presence. Thanks to the opening of K Street Market, that essential component is now in the area. In an interview, the owner of Fire Island Rustic Bakeshop mentioned the revitalization of downtown as being among her goals while also stating, "We're hoping people bike and walk here and make it part of their lifestyle." With the new shops opening in an area primed for residential development (and just one block away from the new Elizabeth Place apartment building), it's clear that the owners involved in this new venture share the same vision for the area as everyone else who wish to see a healthy downtown with residents living north of 9th Avenue.

As for the building itself, 718 K Street will retain its mid-century modern appearance. Built in 1958, the building housed a clinic for decades and watched as its nearby neighbors, Providence Hospital and Alaska Regional Hospital, left downtown for more open space. I myself was briefly a patient at this clinic toward the end of my high school years in the mid-2000s. My doctor was a bit of a cranky guy, but at least I got exposed for the first time to The New Yorker magazine and its droll cartoons while in the waiting room. As a one-story building, I think this might be, in my mind, the most aesthetically pleasing building in Anchorage. It exudes 1950s modernism and is uniquely characterized by its colored glass blocks sprinkled throughout the facade. I do worry, however, that should the area successfully transform into an urban residential neighborhood, there might be a community-led effort to preserve the building under the guise of historical preservation. Despite some of its charm, the building, with its blank walls and setback from the sidewalk, does not contribute to the area's street life but rather turns away from it by having its main entrance face its rear parking lot. I hope one day to see elements of the building's brick and colored-glass facade adorn the ground level of a six-story mixed-used building, with retail at ground level and residential units above.  

Aerial View of 1960s Anchorage

Anchorage aerial as seen in 1963.

Seen here is an aerial view of Anchorage as it appeared before the 1964 earthquake. It's a postcard that I purchased at an online auction around a decade ago thus bringing the postcard's journey full circle back to the city with which it depicts. The back of the postcard is signed, "to Gary" and dated August 1968. While I did wonder to myself, "who's Gary?", I was more interested in pinpointing the year of this postcard, which really didn't take long to figure out. With the J.C. Penny department store in the center right only occupying half of its eventual footprint, it's clear this photo was taken in 1963. A year after its 1963 grand opening, the store would be demolished following the 1964 Alaskan earthquake. The string of storefronts along the northside of 4th Avenue between E Street and C Street are also visible, seen here before their literal downfall due to the liquification of the soil during the following year's quake. 

But what really gets me is just how green the Anchorage townsite looks. It's a jarring contrast to the present-day downtown cityscape, even more so when you realize that downtown's present-day appearance was largely complete just 20 years after this photo was taken with the topping out of the then ARCO Building and Atwood Building, still the city's two tallest buildings, in 1983. It's a visual reminder of the frenetic pace of redevelopment that came with the pipeline era. But it is impossible to ignore the downsides that came with this frenetic change. In this picture, two whole blocks were ultimately replaced with parking structures. A third block, home today to the Dena'ina Center, was cleared for surface parking. While that block is no longer parking, a number of surface parking lots scattered throughout downtown Anchorage remain. It is a reminder that redevelopment does not always equate to progress. Replacing cottages and small commercial buildings with higher-density apartments, condos, and office towers through upzoning is not just a sign of a maturing city, it is also indicative that the city's planning department is serious in responsibly managing a city's growth. However, replacing entire blocks of homes and buildings that house people in favor of concrete structures that store machines on wheels (which sit idle for over 90% of their lifespan) is not responsible in the slightest. It stems from a desire to outside accommodate automobile users by creating parking availability for them. But it comes at the expense of creating a patchwork of buildings surrounded by surface parking and garages which further take away a city's character and further perpetuates the idea of a 6pm city center that is not meant to be lived in.

The same view seen today.

 

Hotel Indigo - Downtown Anchorage

I've been gone for just a bit, but I wanted to go ahead and add the proposed Hotel Indigo development to the record. The project was developed in close cooperation with the Anchorage Community Development Authority (ACDA) and announced to the media in early 2020, just before the pandemic. The 12-story building was to be a mixed-use property with 32 apartment units and space for a restaurant on the ground level, in addition to the 178-room hotel. But what made this project most unique was the nature in which this building was to be built. Modules for each living-space unit were to be constructed in China and barged to Anchorage with each module stacked atop another resulting in a Lego-like rise of the overall structure. Additionally, the parking garage facing 6th Avenue was not to be demolished but rather was to serve as a backbone to the hotel and apartments. 

Construction was originally slated to start in May of last year but was delayed following contractual disputes between the developer and the ACDA over scheduling for the temporary removal of the city's transit center. The construction date was thereby moved to August of 2020. However, as of summer 2021  the project has been indefinitely postponed. In other words, it could perhaps be said that this will be another project that will go into the dustbin of projects that never came to be. It also marks yet another failed plan for the problematic People Mover Transit Center. Five years ago this blog covered a previous grand plan which called for a great reduction in transit center space and the addition of a large retail tenant. As a side note, ironically the doomed Hotel Indigo development would have been built across the street from where the Augustine Energy Center would have been built had that project not been cancelled many years earlier. 

In The News...

Map courtesy of UAF.

Happy New Years. Can't believe this blog will be turning eight years old this year. Anyways, I've been busy, but I did not want to let these stories go by without some coverage as they are pretty interesting, particularly the post-quake data that just came in:

Anchorage Seismic Data Published
So apparently Anchorage had a thorough seismograph network installed about a decade ago that was finally put to use during the recent Iniskin Earthquake. The results that came in have been surprising as they reveal dramatically different results for different parts of the city when it comes to the force of the shake. For instance, check out the difference between the seismograph reading in Jewel Lake and the one right below it in Southport. Surprisingly, the Hillside felt it more than Southport. Conventional wisdom has been that Hillside is most immune to quakes. That was one reason why homeowners who owned property in Turnagain Heights (which of course slid into the inlet in 1964) were provided with plots on the Hillside. I was also surprised that downtown and West Anchorage were not off the rails as they were the biggest disaster areas for the Anchorage Bowl following the '64 quake. Jewel Lake, Airport Heights, Midtown around Dowling and C Street, and parts of Hillside suffered more rattling than downtown, which according to the map was placed around West 5th Avenue -- the heart of the townsite.

An Orchard for Government Hill
Residents of Government Hill have recently proposed building an orchard and garden on a two-acre site that sits vacant between the neighborhood and the neighborhood's commercial strip. The site was once home to the Sourdough Inn, a long abandoned motel that was controversially demolished last year by the DOT to make way for the proposed Knik Arm Crossing. This despite the fact that financial backing for the project has not been secured yet. Some residents claimed this to be the DOT's way of trying to make the project look inevitable and discourage protest. Surprisingly, the DOT is on board with Government Hill residents on the orchard idea. But of course this sort of land use will be easy to remove should the bridge project actually go forward. Whatever the case, hopefully this first-of-a-kind project for the neighborhood materializes.

Building by Pfeffer Rises in Midtown

I reported on this early last year when the building didn't yet have a main tenant. Fast forward to today and the six-story building being developed by Pfeffer Development will now be home to Kuukpik Corporation, a native corporation based out of the North Slope region. Groundbreaking started in October, but it is this summer that the steel is actually rising. What's great is that like Pfeffer's other projects, this building too will be placed up alongside the street making for easy sidewalk access. Both of Pfeffer's buildings on either side of the Kuukpik project already share that similar trait, so we now have three buildings on the south side of 36th Avenue reaching to the street with parking in the rear or side. As it stands now, Kuukpik will occupy one floor of the building while the rest will be up for lease.

By the way, check out the model boat made from baleen that was presented to Mark Pfeffer during the groundbreaking ceremony. It's a trip!

Fire Island Bakery Plans Second Location

Fire Island Rustic Bakery

Fire Island Bakery has announced that it is going to open a second location in the Airport Heights neighborhood in east Anchorage. The bakery has a loyal following, so it has a bit of the Moose's Tooth vibe going for it, except it may not be as well known. One reason for this may be that Fire Island Bakery is not located on a commercially zoned thoroughfare with on-site parking. In fact, you have to go  out of your way to get to the bakery as it is located in the heart of the leafy South Addition neighborhood, just south of downtown. And for that reason, I love this place. There are obviously not many neighborhoods that have a commercial business tucked inside it, but more emphasis on mixed-use zoning in the new city building codes is changing that as can be seen with the Rustic Goat restaurant that opened in west Anchorage a couple years ago. Anyways, Fire Island's Airport Heights location is expected to possibly be open as soon as this summer, and like its original downtown location, will cater primarily to neighborhood residents.

Developers Take Sides in the Mayors Race

Some interesting tidbits of information have been hashed out in this Alaska Dispatch article regarding donations made by developers in the mayors race between Berkowitz and Demboski. Both the Anchorage Home Builders Association and developer Mark Pfeffer donated to the Berkowitz campaign. What I find bizarre however is that a significant amount of funding from the conservative Christian group Alaska Family Action (which backed Demboski, of course) came from developers. I understand that many developers may be interested in backing a conservative candidate such as Demboski due to her hands-off philosophy concerning building regulations (some developers may have even hoped to get more Title 21 rollbacks under her administration), but why donate to a social conservative organization? Seems like a weird route to take to support your candidate. Among the developers who donated to Demboski through Alaska Family Action was Chuck Spinelli of Spinell Homes, which isn't surprising. 

This latest piece of news brings to mind what happened to Anchorage Assembly member Elvi Gray Jackson during a re-election campaign that she ran a few years ago. Hoping to decimate the bench of liberals, a group of developers poured money into advertising against her by using homophobic scare tactics in their ads. Among the donors I recall were Spinell Homes and Davis Constructors & Engineers. In the end, Jackson won and the developers lost. This was the first time I noticed the odd social conservative angle that developers were taking. I understand that they had interest in affecting the makeup of the Assembly which was still working on Title 21 at the time, but why work in cahoots with social conservative groups? I suppose the most realistic answer is simple scare tactics. Homophobic political attacks worked well in the early 2000s, but now we're in a time when the current crop of GOP candidates (Bush, Rubio, Cruz etc) are dodging the issue due to changing national opinion. And as we can see last night, even in red state Alaska, at a local level, Republicans are finding that homophobic scare tactics are no longer a sure thing. Demboski dragged social issues into the center spotlight of this race hoping to capitalize on people's concerns -- and it backfired. We've come a long ways from the days when then mayor George Wuerch ordered the Loussac Library to take down a gay pride display while not suffering any political damage.

What we can take away from this is that there are two sets of developers. Those who champion quality projects (such as Pfeffer), and those who seek to round corners and do what they want at the expense of the city's quality of life. The latter folk are the ones more likely to use crude scare tactics in their campaigning.

 

It's no Longer Coffey Time

Dan Coffey's Anchorage

Well if you had not seen the mayoral election results from this Tuesday, it's not over yet. With Ethan Berkowitz and Amy Demboski pulling away from the rest of the pack with the most votes, the two will face each other in a Cinco de Mayo election to see who gets to be Anchorage's next mayor. What is worth noting, however, and this is the reason why I even make a post about this topic on a non-political blog, is what happened to Dan Coffey. Berkowitz and Andrew Halcro got into the race in January this year. Demboski declared her candidacy last August. And Mr. Coffey? He started campaigning in October... of 2013! Dan Coffey's campaign was as long as many presidential campaigns. Even the race for governor isn't this long. And like a presidential campaign, Coffey did indeed rack up quite a bit of dough from his relentless fundraising drive. In all, his war chest collected over $300,000, far outpacing any of the candidates. Finally, after one year and six months, it was election night. Coffey was looking giddy as he unexpectedly inserted  himself in a Channel 2 live shot Tuesday afternoon at a busy intersection crowded with sign wavers. But it is safe to say the happiness soon wore off as the election tally that night revealed him to finish... in last place (among the main contenders). Dan Coffey was Mayor Dan Sullivan's hand-picked successor to the municipal throne. What happened?

And it is this relationship between the mayor and Dan Coffey that makes AnchorageJoop jubilant in his election night implosion. You may remember that not long after Sullivan took the mayors office in the late 2000s, he hired his old buddy Dan Coffey to review the newly rewritten Title 21 codes. With Title 21, the city's design and building review standards, having just gone through a decade-long review in which developers and the general public had their feedback taken into account, the newly minted code was thought to finally be completed. It was a compromise between developers who fought against added regulations and the people of the city who fought against loosening regulations that would adversely affect their way of life. But with Mayor Begich gone and the conservative Sullivan in, Coffey was unexpectedly hired as an outside consultant to review and revise the newly completed Title 21. Needless to say, a number of codes and standards, which had already gone through a long and exhausting review process, were quickly nixed by Coffey. And not surprisingly, Coffey swung in favor of developers. Among the major changes made was Coffey's eradication of the designated density zones. So now, instead of having high-rise buildings only in midtown and downtown, you can now have a 25-story high-rise go up next to your house in south Anchorage. In addition, sidewalks no longer have to be on both sides of the street, thanks to Coffey's backroom revisionism. Ivan Moore captured the spirit of the frustration at the time with his column Bubba's Anchorage or yours?

Of course, this is just one of numerous other complaints that I and many others have had toward Mr. Coffey. As a man of low morals, Dan Coffey voted against the anti-discrimination ordinance, just as his master, Dan Sullivan, had wanted. Having spent years leading CHARR, a restaurant and bar industry group, it was certain that he would, as mayor, continue to protect corrupt bar owners and fight new regulations that promote public safety as he did when leading the corrupt CHARR. And let's not get started on the recorded phone call conversation in which Coffey talks about paying assembly members to vote a certain way. It was this phone conversation, recorded thanks to Dan Coffey's butt-dialing into the late Allen Tesche's answering machine, that is believed to be the biggest factor in his loss.

With this chapter in Anchorage history appearing to come to an end, what pleases me most is that even in the afterlife, Allen Tesche can still take down Coffey. Here's to you, Assemblyman Tesche.

New Archway Proposed for 4th Avenue

On Saturday, what was suppose to be a day at the dogsled races was nothing of that sort. With little snow, and temperatures hovering above freezing, this year's Fur Rondy dogsled championship was cancelled. But what did go on was a ceremony dedicating a new archway in honor of George Attla, a veteran of the races who took more victories during the race's long history than anyone else, and who recently passed away. But I'm not sure whether the arch was intended as a memorial to him originally. After all, this archway, which will apparently dub the area as the Mushing District, has been floating around for more than a year. But whatever the case, there you have it. 

I find the idea of archways intriguing. I was in San Diego last year and saw archways hanging at the Gaslamp Quarter, Hillcrest, and Little Italy neighborhoods. But whereas people in San Diego have been referring to those neighborhoods by those names long before the arches went up, I'm pretty sure nobody in Anchorage had ever regarded this section of 4th Avenue as the Mushing District. In other words, it feels too contrived. What sets this part of downtown apart so as to deserve its own place name? There's no theme among the areas businesses and no unifying architecture that defines the area. Part of me thinks this is the city's way of trying to spur positive development along this portion of 4th Avenue. After all, the arch will stand next to the one remaining block of "seedy 4th Avenue". But I don't think there's much that can be done to the more general area. Unlike west 4th Avenue, with its quaint small shops lined up next to each other, a block into the new Mushing District is met with block-sized buildings with blank walls. It kills pedestrian activity and explains why nobody bothers to venture east past C Street. It was a mistake to allow a parking garage to take up an entire block on one side and allow Holiday Inn to build a block sized hotel on the other side. And having the miniature highway of C Street going through it also doesn't help. But I digress. 

By the way, this isn't the first time an archway has been called for in Anchorage. A few years ago there was a proposal to put archways in Spenard. But while Spenard attempts to display its bohemian credentials, its not-so-bohemian reliance on automobiles makes Spenard a non-memorable place in which parking lots dominate the fronts of buildings, and where nobody walks from one place to another, with the exception of the giant strip mall that the neighborhood revolves around. Placing an archway in an suburban environment like Spenard would just look awkward. As miffed as I am about this new "Mushing District" arch, downtown is certainly a better venue to be hosting this kind of street decoration.

Mountain View Development Coming Along

Artist sketch on how the development is to appear.

I was in the Mountain View neighborhood the other day doing some last minute Christmas shopping at Glenn Square when I saw nearby that the new development site in Mountain View is quickly taking shape. Announced roughly at this time one year ago in late 2013, the site is being developed by the Alaska Housing Finance Corporation as a mixed-use site that will house 70 mixed-income units (similar to Loussac Place). It's being billed as a mixed-use site, however, it looks like commercial development is expected to come at a later date -- and even then, it doesn't sound like a guarantee. 

Whatever the case, new housing, especially low-income housing, is welcoming news considering the situation Anchorage is in. Friends of Refugees, a national watchdog group, noted a couple years ago that refugee assistance services in Anchorage were no longer able to accept families of more than six due to the lack of available housing. For the normal market as well, times are tough as vacancy rates are low while costs soar. It is also good to see this development going up in Mountain View. Unlike Loussac Place, this site is located in easy walking distance to a variety of businesses, including restaurants, a bank, library, and grocery store. The Arctic Urbanophile also did a piece on the neighborhood's great potential. On a side note, it turns out that the Cook Inlet Housing Authority, which also invests in Mountain View, won the 2014 HUD Secretary's Opportunity and Empowerment Award for its success in turning the neighborhood around. Senator Begich and then HUD Secretary Shaun Donovan toured Mountain View this summer. Also, for whatever reason, the HUD website keeps referring to Mountain View as "Mountain View Village". Umm.. I don't know why.

The site as it appears now.

Loussac Place Construction Update

Just thought I'd stop by the future site of Loussac Place, going up between C and A streets, for some photo updates. As mentioned in an earlier post, Loussac Place will be a compact neighborhood of townhouses replacing its earlier incarnation known as Loussac Manor, which was built in the 1960s with 62 units for low-income families. The new Loussac Place will have nearly double the units at 120, with both low income and market-rate housing.

Again for comparison sake:

Mountain View's comeback

Just thought I'd throw out that there is an article on this months Alaska Journal of Commerce on the resurgance of the Mountain View neighborhood in Northeast Anchorage. With new houses, mixed-use buildings, a remodeled and reopened library, a new Clark Middle School and such, it's a given that a piece about the neighborhood would surface in the local media. Of course you can also head over to the Mountain View Forum blog for more on this historic neighborhood, wink wink.

[edit] --just noticed that there's also an op-ed written by Andrew Spinelli (president of the Home Builders Association, and presumeably president of Spinell Homes) on why he's not thrilled about Title 21 codes related to home building (surprise!). I'll go ahead and link this as well for those inclined to read it.

Re: Bubba's Anchorage or yours?

I've been itchin' to update the blog for the past month after a year long absence, but it was this piece from Ivan Moore on this weeks Press that motivated me enough to get back to posting. With the completed Title 21 codes being "edited" in a backroom by former Assembly member Dan Coffey with the help of business interests on the Muni's dime, it's nice to see many people outraged over what's happening. I wouldn't have expected this considering the ultra exciting and exhilarating world that is municiple zoning and building codes... but citizens are aware and the Anchorage Press in particular has had its fingers on the pulse for the past few weeks. This weeks Ivan Moore column was especially direct:

[...] "I want a vibrant, modern downtown with great hotels, cool shops and pedestrian-friendly walking areas, with all the sleazy, decrepit stuff gone (the Avenue Bar especially). I want to be able to walk there, drive there, bike there or bus there and even in the dead of winter be able to get around easily without slipping over or having to hike over snow berms". [...]

Ignore the bit about the Avenue Bar... that's just personal tit for tat as he and the owner of the Avenue Bar are not best buddies... it's not a sleazy place btw. Also to the mayor's credit, he did introduce the idea of having People Mover buses operate with the same light changing tech as found in emergency vehicles so as to speed up bus service and provide further incentive for riders.

Anchorage finally gets a cruise ship

Monday morning saw the arrival of the first cruise ship to make Anchorage a port of call in 25 years. Holland America's m.s. Amsterdam departed Seattle for a 2 week Alaska cruise that includes stops in Sitka, Juneau, Kodiak, Homer, and Alaska's largest city. In total, the m.s. Amsterdam will make nine stops in Anchorage this summer each with around 1,300 passengers and 600 crew members. Excursions that are offered to tourists upon landing at the Port of Anchorage include day trips to Talkeetna, and flights over Mt. McKinley -- something that other port of call towns can not offer due to their distance. Holland America also recently announced that the Amsterdam will be returning to Anchorage in summer 2011.

Spenard Reconstruction: My Take

(click to enlarge)

Just thought I'd upload this little diddy I made on how I envision Spenard one day looking like. I wouldn't so much call it fantasy as it is more of a reasonable prediction on Spenards future within the next 50 years. The stretch in question is that of the intersection with Benson north to Fireweed Lane; the same stretch under discussion by the city as it looks to reduce Spenard from four lanes to three. While the city looks to bring Spenard into the 21st century and more in line with its increasingly bohemian and bicycle oriented culture, there are several business owners who prefer to keep Spenard in the 1950s. The problem with todays Spenard is that there is no turn lane which results in cars weaving in and out of traffic, cars collecting up behind left turning cars, and no bicycle lanes. Combine the three and accidents are waiting to happen, which they have. Some business owners and others who are simply uneducated will claim that construction on Spenard will result in another Arctic Boulevard fiasco in which access to businesses will be hindered by road and lane closures. Interestingly, these critics of Arctic are silent on the finished product that construction on Arctic Blvd has brought about. Critics claimed that reducing Arctic to two lanes will result in more congestion. In fact the opposite is true. Also, all businesses along Arctic have survived. If anything, opposition to Spenard reconstruction seems to be more about partisanship than the street itself. Newly elected Mayor Dan Sullivan stated in an ADN interview shortly before he took office last year that he is open to experimenting with reordering the layout of the road to see how tests fare. Yet the posters with the cruel caricature of former Mayor Mark Begich still hang in the windows of businesses that want to keep Spenard in the 50s.

While the city's current plans call for Spenard to go from four lanes to three (with a turn lane), my proposal seeks to narrow Spenard down to two lanes flat. In my plans I also added an intersection (a raised intersection at that). As we speak, the city is in the process of realigning one of the side streets that feed into Spenard so as to align with the opposite side street that leads to the Bear Tooth Theater. With this construction work happening, Spenard will finally have side streets that meet and make a four-way intersection possible. I decided to go ahead and add stop signs in one scenario, and a stoplight in the other for this future intersection. I also decided to add colored bike lanes, which have become more common in cities around the world along with bicycle boxes, which the city has been exploring. Bicycle boxes allow bikers to wait at a stoplight directly in front of motorists so as to be visible and not runned over by vehicles making right turns. Some may see narrowing Spenard down to two lanes as extreme -- but it's not. Once upon a time 4th Avenue in Downtown was four lanes. Today, at two lanes and a 25 mph speed limit, 4th Avenue is not going through any armageddon as some Spenard business owners predict will happen to them. Lets also not forget that half of Spenard is already at two lanes anyways. In this already existent two lane section of Spenard, Gwennies still serves huge breakfast plates to tourists, the Harley Davidson shop has doubled in size, one hotel expanded, two national chain hotels were built, and a Village Inn restaurant along with a few other businesses have opened. Just don't expect Spenard reconstruction opponents to remind you of that.

btw I should note that not all business owners along Spenard are opposed to the project. Among the major supporters of reconstruction is the owner of REI, the largest business in Spenard.

More classy condos planned for the summer

The ADN just published an article that reports on the developer behind the trendy new Aurora Square development (seen above) and its further plans in both South Anchorage and Government Hill that are to come this summer. Taking a step away from the traditional and ugly condo projects that have sprung up throughout the Anchorage Bowl in the last several decades, the Anchorage based Lumen Group plans to build more condos that are far more classier in aesthetics, more energy efficient, and incorporate rooftop terraces for social gathering and private gardening. All the units built so far in Aurora Square have been sold while six out of eight units for South Anchorage's soon to be built Lumen Park development have been reserved. The niche market for these pricey homes include young professionals and seniors looking to downsize. For the nearly complete Aurora Square development, the target is professors and doctors who want to live near the U-Med district, as well as those in general who have double income and are childless. The Mountain View Forum blog reported that designers and artists have also snatched up units.

Crowne Plaza - Midtown Anchorage

Well it has arrived. Crowne Plaza, formerly the Holiday Inn Crowne Plaza, opened its first Alaska hotel in Midtown around early fall. Unlike the uninspired flood of Midtown cardboard box hotels that sprouted throughout Midtown in the last ten years, the Crowne Plaza stands out -- and in a good way too. While its competitors use material that make the building look like it's made of cardboard, the Crowne Plaza features a facade of brick on the bottom half, and concrete on the top complete with arch ornamentation on the roof, an uneven facade of uniform windows, and a setback on the bottom after the first floor. The result -- a charming early 20th century style hotel that puts its surroundings, particularly the neighboring hotels nearby, to absolute shame. For those not familiar with the location, the new hotel sits a spitting distance from the also fairly new Marriot and Motel 6 -- both of which continue the ugly hotel style that should be greeted by the city with as much hostility as big box stores. The good news -- the Crowne Plaza sits on the corner of the block thus blocking the ugly hotels from view. Unfortunently the intersection of C Street and Int'l Airport Road and the area around it has a long ways to go, which brings me to another question: why here? Of all the places the Crowne Plaza and its developers could have chosen, why the southern industrial end of Midtown? Why Midtown in general, for that matter? When people think of Midtown, all that can be thought up is old 70s strip malls, parking lots, and a couple of 70s boxy highrises here and there. Southern Midtown, where the Crowne Plaza can be found, is even worse. To the south of the hotel sits self storage warehouses, industrial lots, auto-related businesses, oh and a carpet store. To the north, you have the Vomit Strip -- Applebee's, TGI Fridays, and the centerpiece of all things horrifying, the Golden Corral All-You-Can-Eat pigslop barn. For those not familiar with Golden Corral, it's the one place in which everyone around you weighs over 250 lbs., the food tastes like it came out of a microwave after being shipped in from its hq in North Carolina, and candy corn among other sweets can literally be scooped on to your plate like it was mash potatos -- even the old Royal Fork buffet knew not to go this far. Outside, the parking lot is more than twice the footprint of the building, ultra bright white lights shine down making it look like a car dealership at night, and a electric scroll sign that looks like it came from the 80s greets you and all other passing motorists on C Street. But now I'm going off topic... but I had to get my Golden Corral rant off my chest -- again.

Anyways back on topic, instead of being in its present location, I would have much preferred that the Crowne take the place of the Clairion Suites in Downtown -- another of those unoriginal and ugly slanted roof buildings. Besides fitting it with the more respectable Downtown, the Crowne hotel at that location would be across the street from the Federal Building, diagnal from the Anchorage Museum including the new museum wing, across the street from Nordstrom, and three blocks from the Performing Arts Center, and the Dena'ina convention center. Choices in dining include Humpy's, Bernie's Bungalow, Crush Bistro + Cellar, and Sullivan's Steakhouse among the surrounding blocks not to mention Orso's, the Brewhouse, Sack's, and the Snowgoose within the next couple of blocks after that. As stated earlier, the current dining options nearby the actual location of the Crowne in Midtown are Applebee's, Golden Corral, and TGI Fridays. Oh, forgot Ihop too -- can't forget that. Civically speaking, the Loussac Library is close by, but not close enough considering the walking to be done along the large stretched blocks made up of lonley narrow sidewalks runing next to 45 mph traffic and parking lots. Plus among the civic institutions, the library is really the last thing any visitor really cares to be close to. Among the cultural attractions, ummm... I guess the Alaska Bush Company strip club? It's just down the road in fact, next to the auto repair shop.

In the end, the Crowne Plaza hotel is a welcome addition to the cityscape. Its unique architecture is not only a first among the series of midsized hotels, but also a first in Anchorage architecture in general. Its location however is a testament to the haywire zoning and planning of this city.

what sits directly across from the hotel:










where the hotel should have instead been located:

Destruction leaves its trail in Downtown

Earlier last month, I noticed a small cottage that housed a hotel on 9th Avenue was gone. About a week later, I noticed an abandoned building that once housed a florist in East Downtown had also bitten the dust. Now more recently, a building that sat in the shadow of the new convention center has suddenly disappeared. Now I know these are not demolitions that occurred a long time ago that I just now noticed -- I know full well that these three places were still around as recent as early August as I'm in the area just about everyday. Of course this is nothing new as Downtown recently saw the Alaska Experience Theater, a neighboring 60s/70s era two story office building, and the much beloved "Wings 'n Things" restaurant meet their demise in the last two years. The addition of this new round of demolitions makes this all more than just isolated events -- it's becoming a trend. I think it's safe to say, without having to do research into each of these new demo's, that the demand for parking is too great, and therefore there's land out there that would make more profit parking cars than being occupied by a building. That's exactly what happened with the Experience Theater in 2007 which I noticed hardly attracted tourists in the summer, and was just downright abandoned during the nine months of winter. Head out there today -- especially with The Lion King playing one block over at the Performing Arts Center, and the property is just packed with cars. I can only imagine how large of a jump in profits Mark Pfeiffer (the owner) is getting out of the land compared to its previous use. Ditto for the former site of Wings 'n Things which was also converted into surface parking.

The good news is surface parking is usually a temporary use of property, and thank goodness for that. Nothing is more embarrassing and pathetic than knowing a property makes more money parking cars than being occupied by a building. It says a lot about us as residents of the city and where our priorities are. And I'm not alone. Eradicating surface parking is usually the goal cities across the country have strive for and there has been much success. If you see old postcards of cities such as Seattle, Austin, Houston, or Sacramento during the second half of the 20th century, you'll notice many city blocks entirely occupied by surface parking that if you visit today, aren't there anymore as they house condos, retail, apartments, and offices -- much of them being built just in the last 10 years despite the parking lots being around for 40 years or more. The reason for this is that we have re-entered a pre-WWII paradigm in which city planners are once again developing cities for people and not the automobile. Boston, San Francisco, New York, (and soon Seattle) have dismantled their overhead post-WWII freeways that run through their downtowns; condos and apartments in this decade have replaced offices as the most common use of highrise for the first time in US history as many residents move into gentrified city centers, and street-car systems which vanished just about everywhere in the 1940s and 50s except for say, San Francisco and New Orleans are making a comeback in places like Seattle, Sacramento, Milwaukee, and even some unsuspecting places like Dallas, Phoenix, and Charlotte, North Carolina. But I'm beginning to go off topic here. The point is while many of these newly opened properties in the heart of Anchorage will eventually revert back from parking space to even more profitable larger buildings; catering to cars should never be a meaningful priority as it only legitimizes and encourages more auto use and thus continues the status quo of the last few decades in which private car is the only way to efficiently get around.

As there has been for many decades, the complaint of lack of parking (despite already having three public garages) in Downtown won't go away for a long time. But rather than doing what we have done for the past 40 or so years, the way to address the problem is to increase alternative options for getting around. Having condos and apartments in Downtown would be a start -- right now housing is only on the perimeter in Bootleggers Cove, South Addition, and Government Hill while the few housing inside the Downtown townsite (9th to 3rd Ave, I St. to C St.) is reserved for low income, or are half-way houses. While we may not yet have the demand for street-cars and are decades away from a subway, improvements to the People Mover in addition to new zoning and building codes from the almost complete Title 21 codes, which were made to be compatible by designating high density commercial centers in Downtown and Midtown and neighborhood town centers, would be a big help imo. After all, put a bus stop in a compact piece of real estate that houses large amounts of people living and/or working with limited parking, and there's bound to be a difference.

In the end, I probably shouldn't be writing this confidently on the idea that parking lots are indeed what will replace each of these properties. After all, Anchorage is for the first time in its history entering a problem no outsider would think can happen to a city in the vast state of Alaska -- running out of land. As available land shrinks, values go up, and urban infill starts to takeoff. A text book example of this consequence is the replacement of the former Balto's Restaurant and its whole parking lot with a 4 story parking garage and 10 story office stacked on top. Another is the uprooting of a decades old trailer court neighborhood that was replaced with a series of office buildings (and more on the way) off 36th Avenue in Midtown. Another reason why I figured I should pause and factor in rising land values and not just parking demand is because the building I mentioned in the first paragraph, which recently housed the offices of management overseeing construction of the convention center, and before that, housed offices to the AFSCME union (I know, because I worked there as a janitor) doesn't look to be the only building in that block getting the axe. It's next door neighbor, the Pioneer Building, which housed Stephens Fine Art, Sub Zero Micro Lounge (is it still open?), and more recently some corny Disney Store like tourist trap selling Humpy's t-shirts and mugs has city permit notices posted on its windows that say "demo". Considering that this building and its already razed neighbor are sitting on the newly designed and fashionable F Street between the PAC and the convention center, I think we may be seeing a project already proposed for the area come next spring when construction season starts again. The location of these two sites is just too good to be left as parking for a long time. I personally think the two sites would make a good location for 4 to 6 story mixed use buildings housing condos and apartments on the top floors, and retail/dining on the bottom floor. A similar building (see below post) is being proposed across from Town Square on the JC Penny parking lot. As of now, we don't have any type of medium sized building that serves this purpose. Right now Downtown has either small cottages, or overbearing souless office towers.

btw also worth noting, the annual Fur Rondy pancake feed also takes place inside the Pioneer Building. Certainly Rondy officials will have to find another location, or face an angry mob looking for there buttermilk goodness.