Skybikes, treehouses, more features of Goldbelt’s private cruise ship dock detailed in permit application

Notice also states project’s intent is to "safely accommodate a class of increasingly larger cruise ships docking in Southeast Alaska"

An illustration of Goldbelt Inc.’s proposed two-berth private cruise port, as detailed in a permit application submitted to the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. (Application submitted by Turnagain Marine Construction)

By Mark Sabbatini

Editor

Goldbelt Inc. is aiming high with its proposed private cruise port on Douglas Island with facilities that include skybikes and treehouses, and docks capable of handling the increasingly large ships arriving in Juneau.

Those details and many more for the project — named Goldbelt Aaní – are specified in an 82-page public notice of a permit application published July 28 by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. The notice seeking comment is effective until Aug. 28 and states a public hearing can be requested by interested parties.

Goldbelt announced its proposed two-berth dock on property it owns along the northwest coast of Douglas Island last October, to the surprise of city officials who said they were unaware of the plans beforehand. Officials also said the company provided few details during subsequent months, although preliminary permit discussions with Juneau’s Community Development Department occurred July 23.

The USACE notice focuses largely on Goldbelt Aaní’s specific facilities and infrastructure, plus environmental and other impacts that will need to be weighed in considering the application.

"The applicant’s stated purpose is to construct two cruise ship berths on Douglas Island that can safely accommodate a class of increasingly larger cruise ships docking in Southeast Alaska," the notice states. "The proposed development also includes the onshore visitor attraction development and associated infrastructure necessary to support the cruise ship operations."

A map shows the location of the proposed Goldbelt Aaní private cruise ship port. (U.S. Army Corps of Engineers)

Goldbelt Aaní is scheduled to be built in phases, with offshore development expected to take up to two years and onshore development up to five years, according to the notice. Goldbelt states its goal is to open the port for the 2028 cruise ship season.

Two floating cruise ship docks 500 feet long, with mooring dolphins extending out about 315 feet more from each end of both docks, are specified in the blueprints. The distance of roughly 1,130 feet between the mooring dolphins would be able to accommodate the largest ships currently visiting Juneau such as the 1,138-foot-long Ovation of the Seas.

The water depth of the two docks at low tide also appears to exceed the 30-foot draft needed for Royal Caribbean's 1,196-foot-long Icon of the Seas — currently the largest ship in the world, along with a sister vessel owned by the company — but the ability of such a ship to dock elsewhere in Alaska would be limited.

Goldbelt is proposing a multi-use harbor that, in addition to the two cruise ship piers, features interconnected floats for a small boat harbor, seaplane base, and a fuel dock for vessels and planes.

Shore facilities listed in blueprints include a kayak center, theater, restaurant, shops, stalls, spa, treehouses and bungalows. A network of roads, trails and elevated boardwalks is planned to connect facilities.

Explained in greater detail — due to the infrastructure required — is a skybike facility consisting "of a 2,300-foot-long cable loop suspended 30 to 50 feet above ground level between structural towers."

Among the specifications for the skybikes — which essentially involve pedaling a well-secured bike along a chairlift-like installation — are "tower heights ranging from 20 to 80 feet depending on site topography," and "Elevated viewing platforms would be installed along the ride."

Installation of infrastructure ranging from steel pilings for the docks to a wastewater treatment facility are specified in the plan, along with some details of how Goldbelt plans to address or mitigate impacts to the environment or cultural heritage sites.

For instance, "to compensate for impacts to 7.25 acres of wetlands and marine waters impacts (5.58 acres of palustrine, 0.12 acres of riverine, and 1.55 acres of estuarine impacts), Turnagain Marine Construction proposes to purchase credits from a wetland mitigation bank or in-lieu fee program," the USACE notice states.

Among the questions raised by city officials, residents and other interested parties is whether the two ships docking at Goldbelt Aaní will be counted as part of Juneau’s voluntary five-ship-a-day agreement with the cruise industry. A similar voluntary limit on the daily number of passengers is set to take effect next year.

Goldbelt did not immediately respond to questions from the Independent seeking further details about the project as specified in the USACE notice.

Numerous permit applications to various city, state and federal agencies have not yet been submitted, according to the notice. The notice also states USACE "is soliciting comments from the public; Federal, State, and local agencies and officials; Indian Tribes; and other interested parties in order to consider and evaluate the impacts of this proposed activity."

"Any person may request, in writing, within the comment period specified in this notice, that a public hearing be held to consider this application," the notice states. "Requests for public hearings shall state, with particularity, reasons for holding a public hearing."

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