Goldbelt unveils name, details of proposed private west Douglas cruise dock as permitting process begins
- Mark Sabbatini
- 5 days ago
- 4 min read
"Goldbelt Aaní is not a gangway to souvenir-shop lined streets" company declares at website dedicated to the port scheduled to open in 2028
A proposed private two-berth cruise ship dock in west Douglas now has a name — Goldbelt Aaní — and a start to its permitting process including a preliminary meeting with the city this week, according to company and local planning officials.
A website for the project featuring a description of planned features, conceptual images and video, and an FAQ about operational and legal issues that have been raised has been published by Goldbelt Inc., the Juneau-based Alaska Native corporation that announced the proposed port last October.
The announcement prompted a multitude of questions from city officials caught by surprise since the project could significantly change the local tourism landscape — literally — by directing a significant number of passengers away from the existing berths in downtown Juneau. That aspect of the project is one of the first things highlighted on the website’s homepage.
"Goldbelt Aaní is not a gangway to souvenir-shop lined streets," the website states. "It is a gateway to Alaska’s indigenous past. It will sit on pristine shores along Juneau’s world-famous humpback whale watching grounds framed on the horizon by the rugged snowcapped Chilkat Mountain Range."
The website also promotes the port — whose Łingít name translates simply to "Goldbelt Land" — as "a first of its kind cultural destination for Juneau."
"The port is designed to replicate an 1800s Tlingit Native Village where visitors will interact with Southeast Alaska Native culture, art, foods, and be invited to explore the history of Goldbelt’s ancestral people," the site notes.
The site states the port is scheduled to be ready for the 2028 cruise ship season, a year later than the original projection last October. However, Goldbelt President and CEO McHugh Pierre said at the time that opening in 2027 would occur "if everything worked, I mean, absolutely perfectly" in the development process,
A key question is how the private port will affect the five-ship-a-day and daily passenger caps specified in voluntary agreements between the city and cruise operators. If the agreement applies then downtown businesses could see a huge dropoff in visitor activity. If it doesn’t then Juneau could potentially see hundreds of thousands more visitors than the roughly 1.6 million that arrived each of the past two years and are expected again this year.
The port will be on 251 acres of Goldbelt-owned land on the west side of Douglas Island, roughly 15 miles from downtown Juneau. The nearest visitor options will be floatplane tours offered from the dock, shore facilities and trails, and Eastcrest Ski Area where Goldbelt hopes to be operating a gondola by the time the cruise port opens in 2028.
Royal Caribbean Group was announced as a co-partner at that time. But the project’s website makes scant mention of the cruise line except for a response in the FAQ to "Does Goldbelt have any cruise customers for this new port development?"
"Royal Caribbean Group has expressed its strong interest in being the port’s primary user once construction is completed," the FAQ states. "Additional potential customers may be announced closer to the port opening."
Officials at Goldbelt and Royal Caribbean did not respond to inquiries Friday about the status of their previously announced agreement.
Local residents as well as city officials have raised questions about the project, with photos of areas cleared of trees and other signs of development posted on social media sites. Jill Lawhorne, director of the city’s community development department, said in an interview Friday a pre-application conference between city planning staff and Goldbelt occurred Wednesday.
"Basically that is just the opportunity for an applicant to present their concepts or plans to community development, which means planning, building, and also the fire marshal and general engineering," she said. "Basically our permitting divisions or departments within CBJ attend those and they just discuss and ask any questions. So that's really the first step, usually, in most permit processes and so that's where they're at right now."
The next step for Goldbelt will be applying for the necessary permits, Lawhorne said.
Goldbelt, at its website, offered a history of the site suggesting the preliminary work now occurring is part of a much longer public process.
"In 1995, Goldbelt and the City and Borough of Juneau (CBJ) worked on a master plan to jointly develop sites where Goldbelt and CBJ holdings adjoin," the website notes. "According to municipal records, Goldbelt and CBJ signed an MOA that included a series of agreements that had been updated between the parties over the preceding decades. In 1999, this partnership culminated in the municipality appropriating $600,000, hiring an engineering firm to develop a master plan. Today, that original vision is taking root as Goldbelt Aaní (Land) Cruise Port."
The FAQ also contains the question "How is development on Goldbelt’s ANCSA land different from other commercial developments in Juneau?" The response notes Goldbelt received more than 32,000 acres of land in Southeast Alaska under the Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act (ANCSA) which now belongs to the company’s 4,300 Alaska Native shareholders.
"Alaska Native Corporations are bound by legal and cultural responsibilities to benefit their owners — all of whom are tribal citizens, many still residing in Juneau for Goldbelt," the FAQ states. "ANCSA land is not developed to enrich an individual or a singular business interest, but rather to advance the long-term well-being of its Alaska Native shareholders.
• Contact Mark Sabbatini at editor@juneauindependent.com or (907) 957-2306.
Good for Goldbelt. As to why CBJ was ever surprised is a mystery… this is Golbelt’s land and development will help carry the local economy through the end of the decade.