Commercial Construction Projects Increase in Fairbanks.

• Author: JONES, PATRICIA
• Position: Statistical Data Included

Downtown Fairbanks is getting a needed face-lift due to commercial construction projects and renovations.

A $150 million construction boom in both public and private sector commercial products started since 1999 is not only driving the Interior economy right now, but is also helping to strengthen the local real estate industry in Fairbanks.

According to those in the commercial real estate industry, new construction projects such as state courthouse, a Marriott hotel and the recently completed Doyon corporation headquarters have helped to create a new and improved image of the Fairbanks downtown area.

That, in turn, helps to create more demand for existing commercial properties that have either been underutilized or sat vacant after the post-pipeline boom in Fairbanks.

"Things are happening downtown, and it's getting a real facelift," said Chad Roberts, a real estate agent with Tom Roberts Realty in Fairbanks, a firm that specializes in sales and leases of commercial property. "I'd like to think that we're trying to make downtown a better place."

Construction of commercial properties is a big factor in the new look for downtown Fairbanks. Building and zoning permits filed with the Fairbanks North Star Borough show a dramatic increase in the value of commercial construction planned in 1999 and in the first quarter of this year, compared with prior years.

In 1999, $131 million worth of new commercial construction projects were filed with the borough, according to Janet Davison, who tracks such statistics for the Fairbanks borough's community research quarterly.

By comparison, commercial property building permits filed in 1998, the highest construction year since 1994, totaled $35.8 million.

Included in those 1999 figures were the $10 million Native corporation headquarters built by Doyon Ltd., the new cinema built on Airport Road, and the riverfront lodge at Pike's Landing on the Chena River, near Fairbanks International Airport.

The commercial building trend seems to be continuing this year. For the first three month of 2000, more than $16 million in commercial projects have been filed with the borough, the biggest first quarter for commercial construction and renovation in recent years.

A Marriott hotel complex being built on Block 13 in downtown Fairbanks headlines this year's planned commercial construction activity. Also submitted to the borough building and zoning department is construction of a $4.5 million Guest House Inn, scheduled to...