The Mayor of Anchorage has accepted bids for a new city hall or renovations to the existing one.
A request for proposal was issued by the Municipality of Anchorage on Feb. 11, 2025, seeking proposals to provide office space for an alternative or renewed City Hall, as the current lease for the existing City Hall at 632 West 6th Ave. is set to expire on Dec. 31, 2026. Proposals were due by March 12.
The purpose of the RFP is threefold: to identify potential locations and facility concepts for a new or renewed City Hall, assess the concept feasibility, advantages, and disadvantages; to estimate development costs and propose terms for conceptual agreements; and to evaluate proposers’ credentials and experience.
The current Anchorage City Hall, built in 1962 and leased from Anchorage Public Private Partnership LLC, has 145,416 square feet of gross building area, with 132,674 square feet of rentable office space, housing approximately 375 employees across departments such as the Mayor’s office, Finance, IT, and Human Resources. The lease includes an option to purchase at 97% of fair market value.
Proposers were invited to offer flexible solutions, such as purchasing or leasing an existing or new building, renewing the current City Hall lease, or redeveloping it. Additional options mentioned in the RFP include integrating telework, co-locating the Anchorage Health Department (currently at 825 L Street with 71,691 square feet and 126 employees), or using vacant space at the Planning and Permitting Center.
The proposed facility must provide around 150,000 square feet of rentable space, be within Anchorage (and the RFP specifies it should be preferably in the downtown), ensure public transit and parking access, and support seamless operations for all listed departments by Jan. 1, 2027.
Proposals were to have included a development team with key roles for financial lead, architect, property manager, a management plan, site concepts, cost estimates (covering design, construction, and relocation), and potential public financing needs.
Submissions were limited to 20 pages and must address specific criteria: team qualifications (10 points), experience (10 points), project narrative (20 points), site plan/renderings (20 points), financial capacity (20 points), and benefits to the Municipality (20 points), totaling 100 points.
According to the RFP, an evaluation committee will score proposals, potentially followed by interviews with up to three shortlisted proposers, leading to contract negotiations with the highest-ranked proposer.
The award is anticipated to be announced within 30 days.
The current building, Hill Building, may have been built in 1962 but it was majorly renovated in the early 90’s. The entire building was vacated for a few months for that renovation which was extensive and well done. I cannot imagine any new work being beyond some updating. I would say the current effective age is not 1962.
Making a prediction here, the award will go to a current or past crony of the Municipality. My money is on some type of limited liability corporate entity involving Mark Begich.
How do you think this RFP started? By Mark Begich of course. He is the master of no bid contracts. He buys a run down hotel in downtown, get a no bid contract which pays off the mortgage and terminates contracto to build a luxury hotel. He will be on the development team, (or a close friend so no conflict of interest) and he will be in the thick of it. He is the new Ted Stevens of real estate.
I think they can easily move into one of the soon to be vacant schools. That should work.
Why not, Anchorage residents are rolling in money, which she believes belongs to her and the unethical assembly. I’m thinking 3% may not be enough for these corrupt democrats. Remember, elections have consequences.
A small amount of web searching reveals that Jerry Neeser and Mark Pfeffer are the key figures behind the LLC. Alaska Business magazine described Pfeffer as “The man who literally owns Anchorage City Hall” and further mentioned that he purchased it from Weyerhaeuser following the completion of a contract to remodel it. It looks like Neeser entered the picture following a contract for electrical, mechanical and seismic retrofitting in the mid-1990s. The Municipality has occupied the building for over 45 years. In my earliest years in Anchorage, I remember it being called City Hall Annex, with key functions still being housed at 524 West 4th. This begs the obvious questions: has the Muni leased the building the entire time? Was it ever financially prudent to purchase the building, especially during times when Anchorage fared better than it has in recent years? Given Pfeffer’s association with the former legislative offices on 4th, was any scrutiny given to this deal at any point?
Nice to know the muni has so much money. Wonder where they got it?
Not enough money to provide the firefighters and police the tools they need. (See bonds on the ballot). Not enough money to keep the plows moving. Not enough money to keep the libraries working.
.
But, plenty of money for a new building for the city administration? (Oh, and the homeless)
We now know the motivation behind the sales tax: LaFrance City Hall.
F, the Anchorage Alphabet Assembly. You all should be in jail for stealing from the taxpayers.
Where’s Alaska DOGE? Everyone in office needs to be investigated.
…and the hits just keep on coming!
I am disgusted that in all those years not one administration found it prudent to purchase the building instead of pouring tax dollars into a lease.
Leftists will always spend other people’s money on luxuries first, then demand taxes in order to pay for the services the taxpayers are actually paying for.
Use the present one as a homeless shelter. Just changing which bums are inside
Democrats doing what Dems do best.
Spend other peoples money for their own benefit.
I thought that they were broke? A new building?
Here is where the Anchorage Chamber should gather their voice regarding the change to downtown.
I think the complexion of Anchorage changed dramatically after the commotion which resulted in moving the Legislative offices from downtown Anchorage to midtown. It started the decline of a vibrant professional draw into that area of Anchorage; the workers, employees, associated businesses. Then the area suffered the loss of small support businesses, restaurants and coffee shops, after work gathering spots, small boutique businesses catering to a downtown workforce.
I agree city hall should not move out of downtown. It is already spooky.
I making a prediction here:
The mayor and the assembly WILL move city hall
ACEH will take over the lease and the city will spend considerable funds to renovate the space.
The MOA is a local employer of last choice for skilled workers, and one of the reasons is the current condition of City Hall. Walk the hallways; the carpet is grotesque (held down with duct tape in some places) and the walls haven’t been painted for well over a decade. Some workers are using the same cloth covered cubicles that were in use 20 years ago.
MOA employees unlucky enough to be assigned to City Hall (vs. several alternative MOA workplace locations) are penalized by being required to pay part of the cost of parking in the parking garage while other MOA employees are provided free parking.
The MOA needs to move to a better, safer, location.
Sharon Lechner
WE SIMPLY CAN’T AFFORD IT!!..WHEN WILL OUR ASSEMBLY UNDERSTAND WE CAN’T SUPPORT ALL THEIR “FAVORITE” PROPOSALS??!!
Wow, does anyone even read the post? The headline is misleading for sure, but the article describes all options on the table. Sad that folks are so reactive they ignore or miss information and attack a common business practice.
Our property assessment went up $93,000 in 2 years. The Anch Assembly budget has gone up $1,000,000 for each of the last 2 years, from $2.4m to $4.4m. Prop 2 & 5 each bust the tax cap.
Prop 11 – a “special tax” – $3,000,000 ANNUALLY. Apart from the property taxes!
And I’m searching for cheap bread & hot dogs! WTH!