Private construction starts early in Anchorage: contractors at work on more than a dozen commercial projects.

• Author: Slaten, Russ
• Position: CONSTRUCTION

Bitterly cold weather struck the Lower 48 in February, while record high temperatures were experienced across Alaska, allowing the construction season to begin early and a bit easier in Anchorage. On February 23, Anchorage set a record high temperature of forty-seven degrees at Ted Stevens Anchorage International Airport, beating a record of forty-three degrees set nearly forty years ago in 1978, according to the National Weather Service.

Construction projects in Anchorage are feeling the benefits of an early spring as the Rilke Schule German School of Arts and Science project began in mid-February with dirt work. General contractor Criterion General moved dirt and debris with ease, side-stepping the typical thaw and pull process seen when conducting dirt work in the winter. The kindergarten through eighth grade German immersion charter school is expecting to use the space long-term with a new 39,500-square-foot building located on East 64th Avenue at the end of Burlwood Street in Anchorage. RIM Architects designed the school developed by Nanuaq Development LLC, a joint venture of Pfeffer Development and Sitnasuak Native Corporation, the village corporation of Nome. The building is owned by a special purpose entity that includes Sitnasuak Native Corporation and Mark Pfeffer, president of Pfeffer Development. The project is expected to be completed by September and saw forty to fifty workers at peak construction.

In Chugiak, Roger Hickel Contracting is working on the new Alaska Laborers Training Facility. The forty-four-thousand-square-foot building saw twenty Roger Hickel Contracting employees at peak construction. The training facility is owned by Alaska Laborers Construction Industry Training Fund and was designed by Spark Design. Construction began in June 2014 and is expected to be done in April.

In Downtown Anchorage, Pfeffer Development is remodeling of the former Covenant House Alaska building located at 609 F Street. The eleven thousand-square-foot building, designed by KPB Architects, is being transformed into a multi-faceted location that will offer food, drinks, and event space. The building is owned by a special purpose entity that includes Salamatof Native Association, Inc., the village corporation of Salamatof located on the Kenai Peninsula; Mark Pfeffer, president of Pfeffer Development; and a small group of investors. General contractor Benchmark Construction began this year in mid-January and expects the project to be...