Juneau’s City Hall building is getting a new owner — Sealaska Heritage Institute. The nonprofit plans to demolish it.
On Monday, the Juneau Assembly voted to approve the $1.5 million sale to its neighbor SHI, whose mission is to uplift Lingít, Haida and Ts’msyen cultures of Southeast Alaska. The Assembly’s other option would have put the building up for sale at a minimum $2.5 million bid.
“It’ll be a crown jewel of Heritage Square,” said SHI’s President Kaaháni Rosita Worl.
Earlier this summer, the nonprofit unveiled its plan to demolish the building and construct a new $40 million glass studio and cultural tourism facility at the site. It would give visitors hands-on training in Northwest Coast arts and uplift Alaska Native culture. The building’s design would also match the nonprofit’s other neighboring facilities: the Walter Soboleff Building, its Atnané Hít arts campus and Indigenous Science Building.
SHI believes the building would be a new economic driver for downtown, bringing both jobs and revenue to the community, Worl said.
“We are grounded in traditions, but we are also forward-looking in thinking and planning for our future and a community that supports cultural diversity and well-being of its citizens,” she said.
Most of the residents who testified on the topic supported selling the property directly to SHI. Testifiers said the facility will bring long-term community benefits and cultural diversity to downtown.
But not everyone agreed. Joe Geldhof testified before the Assembly that he believed the sale wouldn’t actually benefit the entire public.
“I am here to tell you that the public interest is not served with an immediate giveaway of public property,” he said. “What you should do is adopt the ordinance that puts this out for bid.”
The Assembly ultimately approved the sale in a six-to-three vote. Mayor Beth Weldon and Assembly members Alicia Hughes-Skandijs, Maureen Hall, Paul Kelly, Christine Woll and Ella Adkison voted in support of the direct sale to SHI. Deputy Mayor Greg Smith and Assembly members Neil Steininger and Nano Brooks voted in opposition.
Hall, in favor of the sale, said selling the building to SHI goes beyond just money. Hall is a former nurse at Harborview Elementary, which houses SHI’s Tlingit Culture, Language, and Literacy program. She said she knows firsthand how investments in cultural diversity benefit youth.
“As a nurse, I’m also mindful of the public health research showing that strong cultural connection leads to better health outcomes,” she said.
But Assembly members in opposition, like Steininger, cited the city’s ongoing financial issues and concerns about closing the door to other potentially interested buyers.
“I think we have not given proper opportunity to those who may have other ideas to come forward with them, and this is bigger than just a simple land swap,” Steininger said. “This is a significant part of downtown. I think we need to be a little more deliberate about it and not move so quickly.”
City Hall is old – it was constructed in 1951 as a fire station. The city’s staff has outgrown the space, which also needs millions in repairs.
Last year, the Assembly voted to buy two floors of the Michael J. Burns building to become Juneau’s new City Hall location after renovations. The building houses the Alaska Permanent Fund Corporation downtown. The move is expected to cost at least $20 million. Juneau residents voted down building a new City Hall two years in a row during recent municipal elections.
The timeline for SHI taking over the building is largely dependent on the city moving out of the space, which is still unclear. SHI says it plans to fundraise for the new building in the interim.
