City taking steps to take Gastineau Apartments by eminent domain

Gastineau Apartments
The Gastineau Apartments in downtown Juneau partially burned in November 2012. (Photo by Casey Kelly/KTOO)

The City and Borough of Juneau is taking steps to seize the burned out Gastineau Apartments by eminent domain, and turn the building into affordable housing.

The Juneau Assembly on Monday gave the city’s Law Department the go ahead to draft a memorandum of agreement with the Alaska Housing Finance Corporation.

The agreement will outline the city’s plans for the vacant building. City Attorney Amy Mead says if it is taken by eminent domain, the city will need to spell out some public purpose in the agreement.

“In this case I think we’re focusing on affordable housing,” said Mead, adding “that can have some component of commercial use.”

If the city does seize the property, AHFC could provide financing for a private developer to come in and renovate the building, which is uninhabitable.

Amy Mead, city attorney
Juneau City Attorney Amy Mead. (Photo by Casey Kelly/KTOO)

Mead says the building’s owner, James Barrett, has been in contact with city officials in the last month. She says he expressed interest in selling the property to the city, but has not responded to an initial offer.

Mead also says private parties have requested an appraisal the city commissioned with Barrett’s consent.

“Their (the private parties) options are either to go directly to Mr. Barrett to try to purchase the property directly, in which case we would just be completely out of it,” said Mead. “Or to see if they could work directly with us, either as part of the eminent domain process depending on what the project is that they wanted to put on the property, or another action that might ultimately end up with the building being acquired with less restrictions.”

Mead says one of the private groups was interested in developing the property into senior housing. Assembly member Karen Crane says the downtown apartment complex would be great for seniors, and she hopes the agreement with AHFC will recognize that.

“So that seniors with wheelchairs or handicap needs or whatever, that some apartments there are also available to meet that need,” Crane said.

Mead says she hopes to have the agreement finished by the end of January.

The building was appraised at just $50,000. The property without the building is valued at a little more than $810,000.

It’s been just over two years since the Gastineau Apartments burned in an accidental fire.

Sign up for The Signal

Top Alaska stories delivered to your inbox every week

Site notifications
Update notification options
Subscribe to notifications