University and city near deal over feds’ Auke Bay property

The Auke Bay Marine Station on Tuesday, Jan. 31, 2017. Juneau Docks and Harbors is interested in the property for a potential expansion of Statter Harbor. (Photo Tripp J Crouse/KTOO)
The Auke Bay Laboratory in January. Juneau Docks and Harbors is interested in the property for a potential expansion of Statter Harbor. (Photo Tripp J Crouse/KTOO)

A former federal marine lab that’s up for grabs on Auke Bay could be formally split between the City and Borough of Juneau and the University of Alaska Southeast.

The deal hasn’t been signed. But City Manager Rorie Watt told the Assembly Monday they are very close.

Rorie Watt said he's "terribly excited" to be Juneau's next city manager. (Photo by Autumn Sapp)
Rorie Watt

“We’ve come up with an agreement to share the parcel by subdividing it along a line that allows the university to obtain the lab building and sufficient land, and Docks and Harbors to obtain the remainder of the parcel,” Watt said.

Docks and Harbors wants to expand Statter Harbor. The university wants to use the former NOAA marine lab for its campus. The compromise would require subdividing the 4-acre property and building a new driveway for the university.

The federal government is willing to give the property away. But Watt said the city’s costs for subdividing the land and closing the deal could be a quarter million dollars. That would require planning commission approval and formal agreement from the Assembly at a later date.

Jacob Resneck, CoastAlaska

Jacob Resneck is CoastAlaska's regional news director based in Juneau. CoastAlaska is our partner in Southeast Alaska. KTOO collaborates with partners across the state to cover important news and to share stories with our audiences.

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