Assembly OKs seeking Telephone Hill developers, noting proposals can be flexible in size and design

Up to 155 residential units still sought, but CBJ notice will clarify that companies can build housing on all or some of the properties in the historic downtown neighborhood

A map shows four properties on Telephone Hill being considered for redevelopment by Juneau city leaders. A notice being published this month will allow companies to propose projects for all or some of the lots. (City and Borough of Juneau image)

By Mark Sabbatini

Juneau Independent

The Juneau Assembly revived stalled plans for redeveloping Telephone Hill on Monday by allowing the city manager to see what companies are interested in the project, while also making it clear potential bidders can suggest smaller-scale projects for only part of the downtown historic neighborhood.

The formal Request for Qualifications (RFQ) will be for a project of "up to 155 market-rate and affordable units" on four developable lots. But Assembly members, meeting as the Committee of the Whole, said additional language should be added to the draft RFQ they were considering to make it clear alternatives will be considered.

If a company wants to limit redevelopment to 30 high-end condos on a single lot, for instance, then the proposal should at least be allowed, said Mayor Beth Weldon. Such a proposal might not score high using the city’s criteria to evaluate submissions, but among the unanswered questions is how many developers are interested in Telephone Hill.

"If nobody else comes through, yes, we want to find more housing and we'd love to do affordable housing, but if no one's going to bid on that then I don't want to stop anybody from putting a project forward that we could consider," she said.

Redeveloping Telephone Hill, where some of Juneau’s oldest houses are located, has been under consideration since the state acquired the land in the 1970s as a possible site for a new Capitol. The city took over ownership in 2022 with residential redevelopment in mind, with the Assembly in 2024 giving preliminary approval to a concept calling for four midrise buildings with 155 residential units.

Opposition to the plans was voiced by residents who had rented the existing homes for many years until being evicted during the past year, plus other people wanting the neighborhood to be preserved. A civil lawsuit by some former residents challenging the legality of the city’s redevelopment plans is scheduled to go to trial in December.

Assembly members opted in April to put demolition of the existing homes on hold temporarily while additional redevelopment options were considered, resulting in the updated RFQ for consideration on Monday.

City Manager Katie Koester said she plans to formally publish the RFQ next week and leave the submission period open for at least 60 days. A timeline issued by her office envisions Assembly review of proposals next February, finalizing terms with a developer by staff during spring, a public hearing on the proposed agreement in July, and finalizing the deal in September or October.

Koester reminded Assembly members the RFQ allows companies to submit their qualifications to redevelop a project in the way they envision, which differs from a formal request for proposals. She said further discussion about what type of redevelopment to proceed with can be a subject of further conversation with a developer once the best-qualified one is selected.

Some Assembly members during Monday’s meeting suggested different or additional housing parameters besides "up to 155" units. Nano Brooks said he favored including a target number below 100 units "just because that, I believe, will elicit more responses because the type of development with less than 100 units in an area is easier to do than over 100 units."

Assembly Member Ella Adkison said she didn’t see a practical reason for detailed specifics about alternative project possibilities.

"I want to see any feasible project that people can come up with," she said. "We've made it clear what we're looking for, but I'm not really interested in adding a lot of sidebars that would prevent a person from being responsive and submitting a project."

Among the primary goals in the RFQ are at least 30 housing units affordable to households earning 80% of the area median income, and creating or preserving open space and recreation areas.

The Assembly didn’t take a formal vote allowing Koester to proceed with the RFQ, instead offering recommendations to incorporate into the draft before it is officially published.

"I think we just need to move forward, and we need to figure out if there's anybody out there and what that looks like at this point," Assembly Member Mila Cosgrove said as the discussion wrapped up. "And I think, rightly so, there are a lot of people with a lot of questions that we simply can't answer right now until we have more information, and for that reason I think we just need to move forward and trust that we've created a process that will allow us to look at the options and navigate towards the best solution for the community."

• Contact Mark Sabbatini at editor@juneauindependent.com or (907) 957-2306.