Winter Construction Rundown: U-Med Edition

I call it U-Med Edition because it is only the U-Med district in which winter construction activity is really present. And it's hardly surprising that it is the U-Med that is seeing action -- it has precedent if it had not been obvious yet. Since 2004, we have seen the opening of the UAA APU Consortium Library, the Conoco Phillips Science Building, a major expansion of Providence Hospital, expansion of the Alaska Native Medical Center, UAA Health Science Building, three parking garages, and more recently, the Alaska Airlines Center, and the new Engineering Building. And I did not even give  a full list of the new buildings that went up at the UAA campus. Rather than slowing down, activity has only speeded up in recent years and this season is no exception. A new parking garage is under construction at the ANMC campus, while on Providence Drive there is a new First National Bank branch going up not far from a new pedestrian walkway that spans over Providence Drive.

Alaska Native Medical Center Parking Structure

My apologies for not having much information on this project. The garage is located right behind the main ANMC building, however, the garage may not even be for the hospital. Earlier last year, Southcentral Foundation held a ground breaking ceremony for a new three-story health facility. After my best efforts, I could not pinpoint the location of this new building (all I know is it hasn't gone up), but I suspect it has nothing to do with this parking garage. Also talked about earlier last year was the construction of a six-story hotel for hospital visitors. For a hotel of that size, a garage might seem appropriate. But there is no building going up next to the garage at the moment. I guess we'll have to wait and see.

First National Bank U-Med Branch

                Unlike other First National Bank branches around town, it appears that the bank is going for a more modern and state of the art look for its first U-Med branch. Makes sense considering its highly regarded neighbors as well as the overall well-manicured appearance of the district. A classic Midtown strip mall or gas station would painfully stick out in a setting like this. What I really like about this building is the fact that it will be right up to the street sitting at the corner of Piper and Providence. No parking lot and landscaping in front of the building. But this choice of layout isn't surprising considering that this project is being developed by Pfeffer Development. Pfeffer is also behind a string of developments on 36th Avenue in which those buildings also sit up to the street with entryways leading from the sidewalk. You can catch the progress on this building at the bank's official site.

Providence Drive Skybridge

Bringing UAA's skybridge count up to four is this new arch-shaped span that will connect the new Engineering Science Building with the newish Health Science Building. We've covered this as early as 2008, but now it's actually happening. The bridge has more of a visual impact than I had anticipated. Driving eastbound to UAA on 36th Avenue, the bridge is visible as soon as you come over the hill toward the intersection of 36th and Lake Otis. So it seems this bridge will be giving the U-Med District a visual landmark, at least from 36th Avenue.

So there ya go. One project left out of this U-Med rundown is yet another new parking garage, this one for UAA, for which work started last fall. Right now however, all that is there are the concrete foundations. I'll probably cover it by spring. Besides that, UAA has been looking at building a second Health Science Building, likely to be located next to the existing Health Science Building on Providence Drive. If you had not known yet however, the winds have changed and the state is using its red pen to lighten its spending budget. In addition, the recent collapse of oil prices is certainly not helping financial matters. With the University of Alaska dependent on the actions in Juneau, UAA may be seeing the sun set on its decade of construction activity.  

Summer in the City - Construction Rundown

CIRI's new headquarters under construction.

Here's the annual summer construction rundown. As I've mentioned in an earlier post, we will not see anything major going up like we had in summers past. We will, however, see more activity than we had in previous years. And if like me, you too lived in Anchorage through the 1990s, then you too are probably grateful that at least we're getting some construction taking place. In fact, I think this may be the most busiest summer since the start of the 2010s decade. I suppose I should clarify that when I refer to construction projects in town, I'm thinking of major ones. If it involves steel girders hoisted into the air by cranes and multiple levels going up, then I am more inclined to record them on this blog. I'm also open to recording smaller residential projects that are unique in their handling of land-use and density. I am fully aware that every year the city gets a new fast food restaurant or big-box store, but I'm not so eager to capture those things as I may have been in years past.

The most high-profile project taking place this summer is the construction of the eight-story headquarters for the CIRI native corporation. CIRI has attained quite a high profile in recent times with their opening of the Tikhatnu Commons and the erection of wind turbines on Fire Island, both of which are recorded on this blog. Now, CIRI has acquired the site formally occupied by the Fireweed Theater and is in the process of building a new headquarters for itself. Apparently, the master plan is to fill the former theater site with other office buildings, perhaps mirroring the Centerpoint development in south midtown which was once home to a trailer park neighborhood until 2002. You can find more on the building along with a hokey PR video and live webcam here. Architecturally, I love the glass facade that it is set to have. It reminds me of the new U.S. Federal Building in San Francisco. ...Okay, kind of. The building will also have great visibility for it will be in the view of motorists traveling both directions on the Seward Highway.

UAA Engineering Building

Nearing completion in the U-Med district is the UAA School of Engineering building. Construction on it began last summer, but it is only now that the project has really took to the air. Built across the street from the new nursing building, there is a proposal floating around to connect the two buildings with a skybridge hanging over Providence Drive. Additionally, because the new building sits on a former parking lot on campus, the university is planning construction of a parking garage across the street (another reason for said skybridge). As far as I can tell though, the world has not ended, as some faculty members and students had expected with the loss of so many parking spaces. This building is the latest in a series of projects that have made some U-Med lovers uncomfortable when it comes to the district's changing identity. In fact, one block from this site, construction of a new First National Bank branch has resulted in the clearing of a sizeable patch of woods.

Alaska Airlines Center

                                                                   

Speaking of which, we also have the Alaska Airlines Center. Construction of the arena started in 2012, and it is expected to open later this year. This was probably the most traumatic of projects in the U-Med district as a large swath of forest across the street from Providence Hospital was mowed down for this building. The most notable controversy,  however, is the fact that the Alaska Airlines Center will not have an ice rink  despite hockey being the premiere sport of the university. Perhaps to make up for that, it was recently announced that a year-around restaurant will open in the arena, complete with an outdoor deck. Breaking from traditional university policy, alcohol will be served in the restaurant -- surely to the joy of students in the nearby dorms. Architecturally, I don't know what to say. It's not all that great looking... One thing I like about this project is that there will be a grand pathway leading to the building from the street side. The campus's student-friendly pedestrian environment is basically being extended to the other side of Providence Drive.

Finally, there's this. It's no 188 WNL, JL Tower, or Centerpoint West. It's just a non-descript class A office building for lease. Gracing the building with a grand name was apparently not a priority. It is a decent looking building though. While this building is viewable from C Street, access to it requires going through Business Park Boulevard. 

                                                                                                                 

So here are your urban contributions to the mishmash cityscape of Anchorage, Alaska for the summer of 2014. While it's great to see a small handful of medium-to-high-density sites go up, it is also disheartening to see the pattern continue of buildings surrounded by parking lots and landscaping. Whether it's the new CIRI headquarters, or the building mentioned just above, a vision of the future with sustainability in mind is absent from these projects. In a city that is post Title 21 Rewrite, most developers can't shake off the Le Corbusier in them. For me, the most promising project is the UAA School of Engineering building, for it is built up against the street and has a bus stop at the foot of it (you can see it in the picture). It's also nice that the Alaska Airlines Center is across the street from People Mover's U-Med district bus stop hub. As a result, six bus lines will be going to the arena.

Forest Mowed Down for new Arena

Click to view larger image

A little over 14 acres of woods just east of Providence Hospital between the UAA and APU campuses was recently mowed down as prep work begins for the new UAA sports arena in east Anchorage. Surviving Governor Parnell's red pen last year, the project isn't without some controversy as the arena will surprisingly not have the ability to convert to a hockey rink for UAA Seawolf hockey -- arguably the most visible and prominent sport among UAA athletics. What it will have, however, is a seating capacity of 5,000 (pretty good, considering the Sullivan fits a little over 6,000), a separate gym for the gymnastics program, admin/coaching offices, as well as locker and team rooms for just about every sport found in UAA (again, except hockey). The building will be 196,000 square feet and will cost $109 million. Here's a video showing how the new arena is expected to look like.

Area that has been cleared.