Huna Totem, Ridgeview, Telephone Hill and taxes

The Edward Webster House stands dark and empty shortly before 11 p.m. on Saturday, Feb. 28, 2026, the court-imposed deadline for a couple living there to move out of Juneau’s oldest home. (Mark Sabbatini / Juneau Independent)

By Maureen Conerton

A recent news article reported Huna Totem Corp is downsizing its development plans for Juneau’s new dock facility citing "cost hikes and tariffs.” If Huna Totem is scaling back plans for its $150 million project because of “cost hikes and tariffs,” what does this mean for the Assembly’s speculative and costly plans for Telephone Hill? 

Like Huna Totem’s plans, any Telephone Hill development will surely be scaled back once the "real-time" costs are calculated by a developer. Huna Totem Corp has deep pockets. It is wishful thinking that any development on Telephone Hill will turn out the way the Assembly hopes. 

Destroying the historic Telephone Hill neighborhood, in the center of the tourist district using taxpayers’ dollars, doesn't make sense. It will end up like the stalled condo project near Fred Meyer, Ridgeview, which the city originally invested affordable housing funds in several years ago. Although the developer had big plans, the site remains a clearcut with only one building and another half-built foundation. Ask the Ridgeview developers their opinion of high-density development projects in Juneau.

Why are some Assembly members still obsessed with their plan to spend millions of tax dollars on Telephone Hill when we are facing a serious budget shortfall? What they thought was a good idea based on a 2023 market analysis has changed. Tariffs, building costs and the price of gas have changed. Juneau's budget has changed, but not the Assembly’s plans to spend millions more on Telephone Hill destruction.

Telephone Hill will add millions to Juneau’s tax burden. The city has already paid $600,000 to out-of-state consultants and has contracted for another $990,000 in consultation costs. The Assembly is planning to spend millions more to demolish the homes and more in subsidies for the developer for many years to come. It’s Juneau taxpayers who will pay those millions to attract a developer while simultaneously experiencing the effects of serious budget cuts.

All Juneau residents will be affected by the budget cuts. Are Assembly members really smarter than the more than 1,000 Juneau residents who signed the Stop The Bulldozers petition? Do they even listen to the many people who testify against this project during every Assembly meeting? 

Hopefully, Assembly members still in favor of the project will consider Ridgeview and Huna Totem’s change of plans due to tariffs and rising costs. Like the gondola, the Assembly needs to stop spending any more of Juneau’s diminishing tax dollars on Telephone Hill. It’s the fiscally responsible decision.

• Maureen Conerton is a longtime Juneau resident who, until recently, lived on Telephone Hill with her family in the oldest house in Juneau. She believes the homes on Telephone Hill should be sold at fair market prices to private individuals and should remain an historic neighborhood in the center of the downtown tourist district.