November 3, 2015

Seattle developers to buy and restore Juneau apartments

JUNEAU, Alaska (AP) — A Seattle company has entered into an agreement with the owner of the Gastineau Apartments in Juneau to purchase the burned-out buildings ahead of the property's upcoming demolition.

City Attorney Amy Mead said there aren't new owners yet, but that Public Private Partnership LLC and the current owner, James Barrett, have entered into a purchase and sale agreement, The Juneau Empire reports. Coogan-Alaska and James P. Hurley of Kenmore, Washington, are going in on the sale with PPP.

“We're not going to tear it down; we're going to restore it,” said Wayne Coogan, principal of Coogan-Alaska. “When the Barretts signed over control of the property that changed the game. Now something can be accomplished.”

Coogan said the company has plans to turn the property into 44 affordable-housing units.

The City and Borough of Juneau Assembly previously considered acquiring the apartment building, but decided against it after determining the property could not be put to public use.

However, Coogan said he believes the property still has historic and economic value.

“If the city tore it down using taxpayer money, you'd have more than a million dollar lien on a $200,000 piece of property,” he said. “That's a pretty bleak outlook.”

In order for the purchase to be finalized, the city must first stop the demolition of the apartments, which was set to begin in the next two weeks.

“If we're going to change course, that direction needs to come from the Assembly,” Mead said.

Sitka contractor CBC Construction recently won the $1.36 million bid for the demolition. The city was supposed to issue a notice Thursday for the company to proceed, but the demolition contract has been put temporarily on hold.

Coogan said that his partners in Washington will head to Juneau to meet with city officials next week. The matter will go before the Assembly at the next available date, according to Mead.

The Assembly's next meeting is Nov. 9.