The Juneau Assembly is not moving forward with the sale of a downtown parcel of land currently used for parking. Instead, the city will re-solicit proposals for development of the North Franklin Street lot. The Assembly decided this during a committee meeting last night.
A group of local investors, called Juneau Legacy Properties, wants to turn the parking lot into a mixed-use building that combines parking, retail and 29 units of housing.
City Lands Manager Greg Chaney says the land is appraised at $530,000. The city solicited proposals last spring and Juneau Legacy Properties was the only one that came in.
The group wants to buy the land without a reversion clause. The clause obligates the investors to fulfill their plans. Juneau Legacy Properties says it cannot obtain funding with that condition.
Chaney explains what that would mean for the city.
“If we sell it, we will have no control. The next day, they could sell it to somebody else. They could build exactly what was proposed, could be completely different; we just don’t know. If the Assembly is comfortable with that, I’ll pursue that and work that arrangement out and negotiate that sale,” Chaney says.
Assembly members weren’t comfortable with it. Instead, they passed a motion to solicit proposals again, this time for mixed-use housing and parking. Karen Crane was the only Assembly member to vote no. Members Jesse Kiehl and Debbie White recused themselves from the discussion due to possible conflicts of interests.
The first solicitation period lasted only a month. Chaney says this next one will last at least two.
