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. 

Anchorage Considers Permitting Mini-Houses

Just thought I'd post a link to this article recently published on the ADN regarding the growing popularity of these miniature-sized homes, also known as granny flats or in-law homes. Not that this is the sole demographic for which these houses are marketed towards -- can be quite the opposite, actually. With city leaders in Anchorage eager to provide more affordable housing in our already tight market, changes in the municipal code are being considered in order to streamline the permit process for building these little homes. Among the more feasible options in clearing code hurdles is to have a cluster of homes together akin to a trailer park with a separate building in the mini-community that offers guestrooms and a laundromat.

ANMC Expansion Takes Shape

Construction continues on the new towers at the ANMC campus that will house overnight patients and their families. A skybridge will connect the main hospital to the housing units and adjoining parking garage. Don't know the official completion date, but it seems that it will be ready for open by fall. 

Loussac Library Remodel Underway

Current view on left, finished product on right.

The much detested elevated entrance to the Loussac Library has finally been reduced to rubble. Those who followed closely may know that getting rid of the flawed entrance had long been a priority among the staff at the Loussac as well as the city government. Built in 1986 with the rest of the library, the flawed entrance consisted of steps that went up to the second level and led to a little plaza from which you can access the main entrance. Nevermind that it's kind of strange that the main entrance was on the second floor, what really earned it the disapproval of many was the danger it posed in the winter. With the steps constantly getting smothered in ice each winter, the library later added a canopy over the middle section of the stairway at the turn of the century. But that too wasn't enough to reduce the hazard of the stairway. From my own personal memory, I recall an incident several years ago when a youth sliding down the rail injured himself and had to go to the hospital. Replacing the elevated entrance will be a ground-level entry in which people simply cross the road and enter through a modern glass facade. Meanwhile from what I understand, extensive remodeling will be carried out inside the building as well (it could sure use it). 

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.

Michael Carey on the Bus Station

Nothing of actual news here, but I just thought I'd share this commentary made by Michael Carey on his observations regarding the downtown transit center on 6th Avenue and the people who use it. It's nice to hear from Carey who until now I did not know was still writing for the ADN following its ownership transition. Now if only he would return to hosting Alaska Edition, I'll be very satisfied!

Downtown Transit Center Facelift Unveiled

How the new transit center may look

Andrew Halcro, head of the authority that runs the People Mover Transit Center in downtown Anchorage, has recently unveiled renderings by RIM Architects of how a remodeled transit center could look like. If you are familiar with the transit center, then you are probably also aware of the troubles that have swamped the place over the last couple of decades. The security statistics presented by Halcro are absolutely staggering. Over 5,000 transients are removed by security officers over the course of a year. More than 500 calls are made to police and fire. But what got me was the turnover rate for security guards at the facility. The longest lasting security guard has been there for six months. And it turns out things have only gotten worse since the Inlet Hotel across the street was demolished a year ago. Trouble that had infected that place has moved across the street to the transit center.

Anyways, so the plans for the transit center are pretty interesting. The biggest thing to come out of this, at least to me, is the call for a large retail store to occupy most of the first floor. One name that was thrown around was Walgreens, which is being seen as an ideal store for it can provide groceries and pharmacy items in a part of town that severely lacks it. I wonder though whether downtown can sustain a store like that considering there is not much in the way of condos and apartments in the downtown core. I don't think People Mover ridership alone would be able to provide the needed traffic for such a store -- not when ridership is only 2%. A natural result of increasing the footprint of retail is the reduction of the indoor waiting area. In an effort to prevent people from loitering (and they do have their problems with non riders lingering for hours), the indoor space will be greatly reduced with an eye toward getting people onto their next bus. Amusingly, another idea tossed around by the authority was that of having an annoying jingle play in a loop on the intercom. It also appears that the name of the transit center itself may change to "City Center". Halcro and Mayor Berkowitz say no tax dollars will be used, and that they hope to break ground in a year.

I know this shouldn't mean anything, but I do like to pick apart little tidbits that concern Anchorage trivia. The Alaska Dispatch quoted Halcro as saying the change expected to take place at the transit center will be the most dramatic transformation of a downtown city block since the construction of the 5th Avenue Mall in 1985. So is this the case? Well, no, it is not. What immediately came to my mind was the construction of the Marriott hotel in 1999. Since the 1980s boom, it is the only highrise to be built in downtown during these last 30 years. I think it's safe to say that block got fairly transformed. Going slightly further back, you may recall the clearing of a block on 4th Avenue in 1994 to make way for the Nesbett Courthouse. And how could we forget the projects of 2008 -- the Dena'ina Center (literally an entire block), the Linny Pacillo Parking Garage, and the Anchorage Museum extension. We could also say the revival of the McKinley Tower Apartments was a significant change to a city block. Once entirely abandoned, the reopened apartment tower sits next to a social services office on one side, and a smaller newly-built apartment building for senior housing on the other. But I imagine Halcro meant to add some hyperbole to get people behind the project. Whatever the case, it's good to know we have a city administration that cares for this part of town and is working to make it blossom again. 

The Man Who Laid Down the Anchorage Grid

Anchorage townsite, circa 1915

Just thought I'd post this piece written by Charles Wohlforth in which some more details about Andrew Christensen's private life is revealed. Christensen's name has been thrown around quite a bit this year as Anchorage celebrated its 100 year anniversary. For those not familiar, Christensen was a federal official who oversaw the city's founding and was in charge of laying down the street grid for the Anchorage townsite -- today's downtown Anchorage. He also served as the auctioneer as plots on the new townsite went on the market (a reenactment of the auction was held earlier this summer). Of course you may also know him for there is a street that bears his name running from the railroad depot up to 3rd Avenue. But for me at least, what kind of tarnishes him from being a "heroic founding father" of Anchorage was his negative attitude toward the Anchorage area later in his life. While FDR was moving Depression-era farmers to the Mat-Su two decades later, Christensen (now back in the States) penned a piece for Time Magazine in which he bitterly referred to the Southcentral region as a wasted and futile effort when it came to economic development and self-sufficiency. His days in Anchorage too were not without controversial moments. He bitterly fought with the Forest Service and plowed forward with the establishment of a red light district within the Chugach National Forest boundaries. He also denied Dena'ina people entry to the townsite.

Something I did not knew until reading this new article was that Christensen lived until 1969, reaching the age of 90. It makes me wonder whether he was aware of the development taking place in the Anchorage townsite in the 1960s. Once a quiet home to cottages and backyards, by the late 60s it became home to several commercial buildings including the Hill Building, First National Building, Anchorage Westward, and the Captain Cook Hotel. All of this development taking place on his grid.

More info on Christensen and the city's founding can be found here.

Former Covenant House Location Gets Redo

The corner of 6th and F Street.

It's only now that I happen to be in the area of 6th and F, so I just thought I'd snap this photo of the redevelopment of the former Covenant House location. The project is being undertaken by Pfeffer Development, the same company that is currently building a low-rise in midtown and recently completed a First National Bank branch in the U-Med District. Occupying the former youth homeless shelter will be a Steam Dot Coffee, a new restaurant and bar called The Williwaw, and a revived Blues Central on the second floor. The one major thing Pfeffer's company did to the building was add an elevator shaft to the east of the building. With the elevator, patrons will be able to dine on the roof. For those who are curious, the Covenant House moved out of the building a few years ago and moved to a new larger building in east downtown. The building was originally home to the YMCA as early as the 1950s. The Williwaw will be owned by the same group that owns Humpy's and Flattop. Not surprising considering its location. This section of downtown is really starting to become something of its own. In related news, it may be safe to say Mark Pfeffer is counting on the building to receive many customers as plans are in the works to build a 16-story mixed-use tower on the 7th Avenue end of F Street. That project too is being developed by Pfeffer Development.