Nearly two years after a fire destroyed the Gastineau Apartment building in downtown Juneau, the City and Borough of Juneau is yet to take a decisive action against owner James Barrett. However, that may soon change as officials consider options for rehabilitation.
“If something doesn’t happen from the private sector to the private company that owns it then we would be making a decision in the next month or two,” Mayor Merrill Sanford says.
Barrett was notified by the city in a March 6 letter that he had until May 1 to install a temporary roof and clean all debris from inside the building. He was issued a building permit last November to install a heat-shrinked plastic roof, which hasn’t been accomplished.
The building was insured, but no details have emerged as to how much of a payout Barrett received. The building and the land it is on was last valued at $1.22 million by CBJ. The building accounted for $409,800 of that value.
Sanford confirms one of the solutions under consideration would allow the city to fund the rehabilitation of the building to make it habitable, and then put a lien on the property. Sanford would not give further details on that option. He says the preferred solution would be for a private investor to step in. He adds that the city is willing to do anything it can to encourage private investment, including lowering or suspending taxes on the property.
“But in the end if it drops into our lap to take care of, I think that the assembly is ready to do something whatever the best option will be. I don’t know what that is yet,” Sanford says.
At minimum, Sanford says the debris must be cleaned up and a temporary roof needs to be installed. He also confirms that taking the property by way of eminent domain is a possibility. In that case the city would have to offer fair market value for the property and then use it for a public purpose, which would likely include offering affordable housing. If the property is taken by eminent domain it could not then be sold to a private investor.
“I personally do not lean towards eminent domain at all, but there’s always particular situations that maybe need to have that tool available,” Sanford says.
Alaska Housing Finance Corporation Planning Director Mark Romick visited the building recently and met with City Manager Kim Kiefer, City Attorney Amy Mead and the Assembly during an executive session. The state-backed corporation has financed major rehabilitation projects before. The Fairview Manor in Fairbanks was about five times the size of the 41-unit Gastineau building before its complete reconstruction. Romick says he can’t estimate exactly what rehabilitation would cost.
“It looks like a pretty substantial rehab and so it’s hard to say. I can tell you that new construction is anywhere from $200,000 to $275,000 a unit. Rehab is generally less expensive,” Romick says. “Frankly it just depends on how bad it is inside.”
Romick says it’s probably been since the 1964 earthquake that AHFC or its predecessor, the Alaska State Housing Authority, has been involved with a property taken by eminent domain. Mayor Sanford says he can’t remember the last time the city took a property by eminent domain.
If a private investor bought the property, Romick says AHFC could provide financing for certain kinds of projects. Senior, low-income or affordable housing and partial commercial use are all common options, he says.
James Barrett could not be reached for comment on this story. Calls made to his personal cell phone number and to management at the Bergmann Hotel, which he also owns, did not receive a response. A visit to the hotel was also unsuccessful.
A neighbor of the Bergmann Hotel said that “significant work” on the hotel’s roof was recently completed.
