Mixed-Use Development Projects to Change the Face of Anchorage.

• Author: KANE, ROGER

After four months of wrangling and revising, the Anchorage Assembly adopted the Anchorage 2020 Anchorage Bowl Comprehensive Plan at a special meeting Feb. 20. The comprehensive plan will guide development and redevelopment in the Anchorage Bowl for the next 20 years and will usher in a new phase of development in Anchorage. The plan incorporates development strategies and land-use policies that are designed to streamline transportation, encourage more efficient use of undeveloped land and protect open spaces.

In order to accomplish these goals, and at the same time accommodate a growing population in need of housing, new residential design standards must be adopted, city planners say.

"Anchorage is an auto-oriented city," said Thede Tobish, an Anchorage senior planner. Because Anchorage was developed from the 1950s through the '80s, with the idea that people would drive--to work, shopping centers and other places--urban sprawl has consumed most of the land in the Anchorage Bowl.

Of the existing land supply, 78 percent is already committed to use; 35 percent is residential; 22 percent is parks and open spaces; 19 percent is public; 8 percent is institutional; 6 percent is airport, railroad or port; 5 percent is commercial; and 5 percent is industrial, according to figures presented in the comprehensive plan.

With land supplies limited, city planners hope to use existing space more efficiently by encouraging the development of mixed-use projects.

Mixed-use projects of the near future will be built to create a sense of place. Attractive building designs, which make the most of winter light, will meld with park-like landscaping.

Here to stay are projects that integrate residences, retail establishments and office space, to encourage pedestrian traffic and reduce dependence on the automobile.

First of its Kind in Anchorage

Construction on Downtown Anchorage's first multi-million dollar, mixed-use development project might begin this summer--if the investors and contractor can agree on the terms.

Dubbed the Fifth Avenue Tower, the project is a 23-story project that will fuse 130,000 square feet of residential space with 40,000 square feet of office space, a four-story aboveground parking garage, two floors of retail establishments and an underground parking lot.

The project will be further enhanced by skywalks, which will connect the office space in the tower to the KeyBank Plaza. Not only will the building be a showcase of new design concepts...