AMATS moves Knik Arm Bridge to short term list

As if we didn't see it coming, AMATS (the 5 member board that oversees federally funded transportation priorities for the South Central region of the state including Anchorage) has moved the Knik Arm Bridge project from the long term list of priorities back to the short term. Late last year when Anchorage Mayor Begich was still in office, he and two anti-bridge Assembly members voted in a 3 to 2 majority over the two pro-bridge members from the state DOT to move the project into the list of long term projects. This would mean that more immediate and much needed projects that actually affect Anchorage and Valley residents would take priority and become reality. But not long after this was achieved, the mayors from the Mat-Su including disgraced mayor Roger Purcell of Houston (not Houston, TX for you outsiders) took AMATS to court saying that public hearings on the decision were not made. The mayors from the Valley knew full well that if the court struck down the AMATS decision, then the process would start all over but with one major change -- pro-bridge Dan Sullivan is now mayor of Anchorage. Now the majority swings in the favor of the Knik Arm Bridge proposal 3 to 2. For those not in the know, AMATS decisions aren't usually done before the public in the first place. But of course the mayors of Houston and Wasilla see the bridge as a benefit since obviously the bridge landing will be in the Mat-Su and in turn bring opportunities of economic growth at the expense of the Anchorage economy and tax base.

If you've been following this blog for a while, you know I'm not supportive of this project. While I may be a cheerleader for steel beams rising into the air and just about any construction project going on in Anchorage (and the world for that matter), the bridge would be a death knell for the city for both business and residents. Figures already show that toll costs would take decades to cover the cost of the bridge -- a cost that is rising every year since the bridge committee known as KABATA was formed about 10 years ago. At this point the bridge is somewhere in the hundreds of millions... exact numbers are impossible to know as they keep changing every time the latest story on the Bridge to Nowhere is published. Should the bridge be built, funds from AMATS would be sucked dry by the bridge depriving both Anchorage and the Valley of important transport projects that were handed to us via AMATS by the federal government. Why blow what we have in federal money on a bridge that a news source found would actually take LONGER for Valley commuters to get from Anchorage to the Valley and back (in addition to paying a toll)? Most importantly, a bridge linking Anchorage with the sparsely populated western end of the Mat-Su Borough would inevitably lead to urban sprawl as far as the eye can see. Anchorage is in the process of replacing temporary strip malls, dusty parking lots, and other ramshackle buildings with more permanent easy on the eye buildings as developable land runs out and property values rise. From a visual standpoint, Anchorage is on the threshold of looking like a real city. With businesses and residents leaving the city, what happens to our tax base? City funds will drain, quality of schools and other quality of life issues will decrease provoking a further exodus and turn Anchorage into the likes of other cities in the Lower 48. We know these cities -- hundreds of thousands if not millions commute into cities only to repeat their 2 hour commute back in the evening. Unlike Phoenix, Atlanta, or Houston, among others that spread beyond the horizon, Anchorage isn't surrounded by flat plains. The cost to maintain miles and miles of sewer lines, streets, lights, etc etc is non existent due to our limited growth space.

I love my construction projects, but projects that come at the expense of the economic, social, and financial well being of every one of us is not cool.

btw I hope I don't come off as purely alarmist. A project being listed on the short term list doesn't mean that it will happen. Just a disclaimer..

People Mover device gets the green light

Earlier last month the ADN reported on an idea proposed by Mayor Dan Sullivan in which People Mover buses would be equipped with devices that would allow buses to get through red light traffic. Already in use in other cities in the Lower 48, People Mover buses would use the same technology used by emergency vehicles so as to get passengers to their destinations faster via extending green lights or turning red lights to green. I decided not to bother posting the article here for the cynic in me thought this proposal wouldn't fly. Sure it was the Mayor himself proposing the idea along with a transit friendly Assembly majority, but I suspected that Assembly members would feel the wrath from backwards constituents and be pressured to vote no. Instead, the Assembly voted unanimously in favor of it! Starting next week, two bus routes will begin a one year trial period with results to be reported roughly a year from now. Read the article here.

Goregous Vancouver

With the Olympics now over, I thought I'd pay tribute to the city of Vancouver BC with this awesome vid that shows just how idealistic (at least some parts) of the city are from an urban planning perspective. If you're a regular reader on topics within the field of urban planning and land use, you've probably lost count of how many times Vancouver has been brought up as an example for urban policy initiatives.

Anyways back to the video; it's just too good. You have the reliable mass transit, the residential towers in the background, the open public space filled with activity, and the peaceful lakefront in front of the central business district and BC Place.


While I'm at it, here's another neat video this time in time lapse:

Top 10 Significant Projects of the Last Decade

Good to be back! If you read the previous post, you knew that I could not take care of the blog for I had things to do in addition to the coming holiday season, which is like a vortex that usually takes you in about a week or two in advance and doesn't let you recover until some time in early January. It's rough. But I'm back, so lets get this blog back on the road and pretend the lull never happened.

Anyways, for a while I've been debating with myself whether to do this or not. One of my pet peeves has long been the annual end-of-the-year review. You've all seen this: On just about every form of media, be it newspaper, websites, or, most notably, television, end-of-the-year reviews seem to be excuses, particularly for cable channels, to run old footage and not worry about new and original material for the week's show. The end of 2009 was especially bad because it also brought about the obligatory decade-in-review. But besides it being February, for which I will undoubtedly stand out and get noticed by the masses for my two-month-late review, this last decade was one that Anchorage had not seen since the 1980s. If you lived here in the 1990s, you knew Anchorage was quite a dead place. The biggest thing to happen to Anchorage in the '90s was the arrival of Walmart and Schuck's Auto Supply. Alright, I'm being a little flippant; the '90s did see the construction of the 20-story Anchorage Marriott in downtown. But beyond that, I honestly could not think of 10 major projects from that decade. Contrast that to the '80s, in which Anchorage saw an expanded museum, the Sullivan Arena, the Egan Center, the 5th Avenue Mall, the Performing Arts Center, and two of Alaska's tallest (and still tallest) towers in downtown, among other projects. While oil doesn't flow down the pipeline in the great quantity that it did in the '80s, the 2000s were good to Anchorage if, like me, you're into construction stalking. With that said, if anything in this world deserves a 10-year review, it's of course the projects that rose into the sky throughout the Anchorage bowl. 

10. Alutiiq Plaza

Not very well known due to its tucked-away location, but I had to add Alutiiq Plaza to the top-10 list. I think it deserves it. In response to the old criticism of uninspiring bland office buildings going up in the last 40 years, this last decade has seen a shift, with an attempt to give nod to Alaskan native design. The first tries have been hard on the eyes, as can be seen with the Alaska Native Hospital off Tudor Road. The architects of Alutiiq Plaza, however, are the first to have pulled it off successfully, I think. Drive by this place at night and check out the native symbols on the pane of glass, which are lit to give the building an even more charming look than its already nice daytime appearance.

9.  Linny Pacillo Parking Garage

Linny Pacillo was known by many in downtown Anchorage as "The Meter Ferry". I don't know how many people she rescued by putting coins in nearly expired parking meters over the years (while irking the city), but her name lives on with the new Linny Pacillo Parking Garage on 7th Avenue. Opening around the same time as the new convention center across the street in 2008, the garage was built to make up for the large amount of parking spaces lost due to the footprint of the new convention center. A proposal for a skybridge connecting the garage to the Atwood Building across the street has been floating around for some time now. We'll see if that ever gets off the ground.

8. UAA/APU Consortium Library

In its 50-plus year history, I would say UAA (formally ACC) had two significant events when it comes to new developments: The first was the founding of the new campus in east Anchorage in the 1960s. The second significant event came in the earlier part of this last decade with the opening of the new consortium library. The bold exterior is one thing, but the interior is quite another, with its daring use of colors, materials, and a glass curtain that lets in large amounts of sunlight. This is without a doubt a break from the usual mundane and otherwise forgettable buildings sprinkled throughout the UAA campus. You don't have to be a student to check out the inside of this library for yourself. I highly recommend paying a visit and checking the place out.  

7. 3900 C Street

As mentioned earlier, an old complaint by Anchorage residents has long been about the amount of unimaginative box-shaped high-rises in midtown and downtown. The early 2002 opening of 3900 C Street in midtown Anchorage brought an end to that box-shaped building streak. 3900 C Street was also the first major office building to incorporate Alaskan native design elements, which would go on to inspire more developments in the following years.  

6. JL Tower

Near 3900 C Street sits the 14-story JL Tower — named after JL Properties, the developers (at least I'm assuming that's why its called the JL Tower) behind this building. What I love about this building is that it gives us our own sort of Empire State Building. Like the New York landmark, the JL Tower has its rooftop lit every night, making it visible from many parts of town with special colors commemorating holidays or special events. My personal favorite is on Halloween night when the building pulsates orange light along the same rhythm as a heartbeat, followed by a frantic-like blinking of the lights. To get more serious though, while the architecture of the building is overall splendid, its flat surroundings are quite unfortunate. The tower is also located on a side road, which results in the building not being in the sightlines of drivers going down any major thoroughfare in midtown Anchorage. I would not be surprised if some Anchorage residents don't even know of this building's existence.  

5. McKinley Tower Apartments

A restored apartment building may not sound like a big deal worthy of making it on a top-10 list, but if you've been in Anchorage a long time, then you know this is indeed a big deal! Built in the early 1950s, the McKinley Tower was a survivor of the 1964 earthquake, but did not survive building code standards, which resulted in its doors being shuttered shortly afterwards. In the 1970s, a shady developer bought the building at a city auction and planned to convert the building to office use. The plan never panned out as the developer ran into financial problems. Getting convicted for murdering his wife also did not help matters. By the 1980s, the city was left with a concrete windowless shell that was repainted pink. In came Marc Marlow, a developer who purchased the building and in the late '90s and started to sand off the pink paint. Financial problems came about, but with tax breaks from the city and money from the federal government in the 2000s, Marlow was able to move the project forward and bring the McKinley Tower back to its former glory. Upon buying the building, Marlow tossed around the idea of making it a hotel or condominiums, but the federal government required that Marlow restore the building to its original use (and its original paint scheme) for historical preservation, if he wished to get financial aid. My entire childhood consisted of seeing this building in its pink stage of life. Today, I can't get enough of seeing this building at night with some of its lights on, and an occasional flat-screen tv in view; it's a sight I never would have thought I'd see. Last I heard, Marlow is now working on restoring the tallest building in Fairbanks, which also happens to be abandoned. Best of luck to Fairbanks. 

4. Anchorage Museum Expansion

First building in Anchorage to be designed by a high-profile architect? Perhaps. In any case, 2009 saw the opening of the expansion wing to the Anchorage Museum after a decade in the works. Designed by British architect David Chipperfield, the new wing re-orientates the museum's official entrance so that it faces west rather than facing the federal courthouse across the street to the south. In addition to the new entrance and the parkland in front of it, the new building is equipped with modern security and temperature technologies, thus allowing the Anchorage Museum to host more high-profile events such as an Andy Warhol exhibit (which I think is later this year). This is the third time that the museum has been expanded, with previous additions being built in 1986 and 1973. The museum itself opened in 1968. 

3. Dena'ina Convention Center

Strictly from an architectural perspective, I would place the new museum ahead of the Dena'ina Convention Center. But when including other factors, such as the publicity it received, the controversy in getting the project approved by voters, and its potential in raising revenue for the city in years to come, the Dena'ina Center has to take the #3 spot. Rather than replacing the existing Egan Center two blocks north, the Dena'ina Center was built so as to become the main convention space while the Egan Center acts as spillover space for larger conventions and events. I don't have the numbers in front of me, but the Dena'ina Center absolutely trumps the Egan in terms of floor space. The new convention center also takes pressure off the Sullivan Arena by allowing more Aces games to be played at the arena while gun shows, home and garden, and other floor shows move downtown (at least in theory, that's what was touted). 

2. Concourse C - Anchorage International Airport

I know I have readership outside Alaska, so if you ever travel back to Anchorage, you don't have to go far to see what's new in the city. Upon alighting from the plane, chances are you'll be standing in the most visited new structure in the state. Concourse C, which has been in the planning stages since at least the mid-1990s, finally opened in the summer of 2004. On opening day, the public was able to roam around the whole concourse, including past the security check. To Anchorage residents, this expansion was a big deal. For the first time ever, the Anchorage airport contained elements previously found only in airports in the Lower 48, from horizontal-running escalators, to the CNN Airport Network broadcasting throughout the terminal. Down at the baggage claim, visitors can see advertisements on loop on flat screen televisions. The new addition to the airport has penetrated the consciousness of Anchorage residents to the point that the airport has been featured on the annual phone book twice. With the interior of the new concourse vastly different from the neighboring B concourse, which opened in the early 1970s, it is expected that the older concourse will see major remodeling work in the near future. 

1. 188 WNL

Like the JL Tower, 188 WNL is another 14-story tower that is worth making the list. Unlike the nearby JL Tower, however, the group behind 188 WNL took a different approach to developing the site. In a break from precedent when it comes to midtown development, 188 WNL is built in a more compact downtown-style layout. The building is built up to the sidewalk, while the ground floor has space for retail stores and restaurants. Parking for the building is in a nicely hidden garage above it. This building is the polar opposite of the JL Tower in that it gets everything right in terms of how it engages with the surrounding urban environment. It is a design aspect that will be increasingly needed as Anchorage continues to urbanize. While the JL Tower was built with the automobile in mind, 188 WNL has positioned itself so as to become easily adoptable into its changing surroundings in the many decades to come. Today, the building sticks out in a sea of surface parking lots and one-story buildings, but it is of course entirely possible that in several decades, the area will see pedestrian traffic and neighboring buildings of similar density. For all we know, perhaps one day Northern Lights Boulevard will have light-rail tracks down the center of the street, while cars travel in opposite directions at slower speeds thanks to the urbanized environment. Whatever may come about, this building — with its density and its street-level engagement toward pedestrians — will be able to blend in seamlessly. In such an environment, 188 WNL will be distinguished as being the first development in midtown to foresee this change. But for now, 188 WNL can enjoy being distinguished as being decades ahead of its time. For this reason, I award 188 WNL as the building of the decade. 

Canadian tower bypasses parking requirements

Kinda old (September 2009), but thought it was worth sharing: a developer in Toronto entirely bypassed parking requirements as mandated by city zoning rules and got the green light from the local community council. Like American cities (with the exception of New York and Chicago among perhaps others), Toronto's developers are also required to include a designated amount of space that is to be dedicated to automobile parking; but instead of fitting in the 140 parking spaces as demanded by city zoning in proportion with the residential units being built, the developer of a 42 storey tower in Toronto, Canada got away with nothing more than nine spots for car-share rental spots, and over 300 bicycle spaces. As the developer noted, including parking would have increased the cost of the units by $20,000. While the developer still had to go for approval of the city council by the time that this article reached press time in September, another local source says the tower is likely a go. This is far from an isolated case that is to be ignored, imo. While fitting in with Toronto's drive to "go green", the condo will now become a precedent for future developers to bypass the very expensive route of having to build a parking garage to accommodate cars. In addition, this new tower would have the effect of making other residential developers compete with the low unit prices which again means bypassing the accommodation of cars through parking spaces. This really sets the wheels in motion for a more environmentally friendly and liberal policy in Toronto's city planning in addition to providing precedent for other cities throughout North America. For those wondering, the tower is indeed located in the vibrant downtown Toronto only steps away from a subway and units have already been sold. +1 Toronto.

As for the Anchorage connection, you might have spotted an article in last Tuesdays ADN in which developers and planners who are re-crafting Title 21 codes are in a skirmish of sorts over parking and landscaping. Both are wanting to trim down on the amount of required parking while city planners want added landscaping which developers fear would offset the cost saved by less parking. I have to agree with the developers on this one. Besides discouraging investment or at least keeping costs the same, landscaping doesn't solve the need to make Anchorage more compact and still takes up land. It also means more manicured lawns and shrubs to maintain which includes even more use of water.

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:

Centerpoint West - complete

Earlier this year I made a post regarding the construction of Centerpoint West, an eight floor office building in Midtown complimenting the already existing Centerpoint building and JL Tower. Unlike the previous high density buildings going up, I was kinda nervous about how this one would turn out. The reason for this was that in the artist rendering of the office tower, the building looked like it was coming out of a time machine straight from the 1970s or 80s. Well, nearly a year has come and gone, and while construction continues on the garage accompanying it, the building is pretty much done. How did the buildings actual appearence turn out? I can tell you it's imo certainly better looking than the yellowish/jungle green building depicted on the signs advertising office space. Then again as you probably know yourself if you follow these kinds of things, artistic renderings of how a building is going to look usually never match, and sometime are far from looking like the actual product (trust me, I've seen some really bad ones...). With that out of the way, the building still isn't anything special. Unlike its nearby neighbors with arched or wedge shape roofs, curved facades, colorful LED lights, or silhouette drawings, Centerpoint West takes a more strict modernist approach. This, I would like. The problem is while the architects took a different approach with this one, it looks like they did it while going for the lowest price possible. It basically looks cheap... really cheap. It's like the building is trying to replicate the much better looking 188 West Northern Lights tower which is similar in design with the building split with one side being strip windows and the other being all glass. It just doesn't work here. The materials used just look shoddy. And why green again? At least it's not gold (now that would've been realllly 80's), but the ASRC building is just nearby. I think light blue, or just clear like in the new convention center would've worked better with the gray. Other than that, the building has shaped up to be what was expected. I'm glad they went for a parking garage. That whole area, formally a trailer park, would've become a parking nightmare with all the new office towers and employees going in and out with less and less space to park. Centerpoint West is building #6 to go up in the area (known by few as "Plaza 36") since 2000 and more building(s) are expected to go up.

Dena'ina Center Turns One Year Old

Checkout the article on Sunday's ADN regarding the one year anniversary of the opening of the new Dena'ina convention center. Apparently, despite the downturn in the economy this last year, the center is meeting and exceeding estimated revenue projections made in 2005. Also, not a single event was cancelled this last year despite the economy while bookings for future events are going in to 2014. During this first year of operation, I've been paying close attention to the center and have since observed some goods and bads. For the goods: the convention center actually brings people to the usually empty streets of South Downtown. During weekend events, crowds can leave the center and cross the street to McGinley's Pub, Humpy's, or just all of downtown in general which wouldn't be the case had these events taken place in the far away Sullivan Arena -- the venue that formally housed some of the events now going to the Dena'ina. Yet the bad thing about the convention center is its very self. Though it's more welcoming than the parking lot that came before it, whenever the convention center is not is use (which is often), the whole block which the building occupies sits empty further contributing to the deserted anti-human scale street life that South Downtown has long suffered. While I supported the citys efforts at a new larger convention center since efforts began in 2002 and continue to do so, I hope this convention center will be the last of the superblock variety. To see the success rate of these superblocks, all one has to do is look across the street from the Dena'ina and look at the ConocoPhillips complex, or the 6th avenue parking garage across from that -- places that are too spooky to walk by after 6:00 in the evening. I hate to sound like Debbie Downer on these things, but I can't help it. But I do realize you can't have a convention center complete with the street charms of 4th Avenue or G Street and because of this, I'm content with the center. I'm also pleased with the exterior (and interior) architecture of the building, which like the new museum, you can tell had no input from the majority Anchorage public (sorry guys -- but hey I was born here). Otherwise the building would look like something from the 80s with whales and mountains painted all over. The back of the convention center is indeed however, a nightmare. I especially feel sorry for the people in the small apartments across from it who have to see that monstrous site every morning. BTW for those curious, events that have taken place this first year since its opening include Cedric the Entertainer, the International Beard and Moustache Competition, Damon Wayans, a Sarah Palin rally, AFN (twice now, sorry Fairbanks), the Oxygen & Octane Expo, a oil/climate change meeting with some of Obama's cabinet secretaries, and a barrage of events during the night that the state celebrated it's 50th in January among many smaller events. Here's to another successful year *cling*

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.