Anchorage, Alaska – Sept. 12, 2006 – Plans for an 800-plus space parking garage across from the Atwood State Office Building and the city's new Dena'ina Civic and Convention Center are moving forward. The Municipality of Anchorage signed agreements today with the developers and the Alaska Housing Finance Corporation (AHFC) allowing the project to proceed.

The 836-space, 9-story garage will be built on "Block 70" at 7th and F streets. The $44 million garage will be financed by revenue bonds issued by AHFC, according to AHFC CEO Dan Fauske. When completed in the fall of 2008, state workers who now park in the JC Penney garage, in other municipal garages and on surface lots in downtown will all be able to park in the new structure. The garage is designed to be connected to the Atwood Building with a sky-bridge, crossing 7th Avenue.

Key provisions of the agreement include a requirement that the garage will have a "winter city" design that is pedestrian-friendly. This means heated sidewalks on E and F streets and on 7th Avenue. The garage will feature retail and commercial space on the street level. It also will be integrated into long-term plans for improving the downtown district by ensuring that F Street remains the chief pedestrian route between the new convention center, Performing Arts Center and Egan Convention Center.

"This new parking garage is a key piece of our downtown revitalization as we open up a new convention center and move forward with several other major projects," Mayor Begich said. "It also will give state workers consolidated, easily accessible parking and provide public parking in the evenings and on weekends."

Commissioner of Administration Scott J. Nordstrand, whose department oversees state office buildings, stated: "This agreement benefits both the State of Alaska, particularly its employees at the Atwood Building, as well as the citizens of Anchorage, and its convention visitors. It is one more example of Governor Murkowski's commitment to a cooperative relationship between the State and its local governments, with the ultimate goal being the common good for all Alaskans."

A new parking garage has been a part of the plans for the new convention center since it was envisioned in early 2003. But when steel, concrete and other construction costs skyrocketed after Hurricane Katrina, the garage was eliminated from the convention center budget. A bill initiated by Governor Murkowski and passed by the Alaska State Legislature authorized AHFC to issue the bonds for purchase of the garage.

The developers, Alaska Center for Convention and Trade (ACCT), LLC, will now proceed from a 10 percent design level to a 35 percent design level. If AHFC and the Department of Administration approve the project at that point, construction is expected to start in April 2007.

The agreements for the garage were signed today by Mayor Begich and state officials in a brief ceremony in the Atwood Building.

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Media Contact:
Julie Hasquet
(907) 343-7103

Additional Contacts: Laura Tanis
Public Relations Manager
Anchorage Convention & Visitors Bureau
ltanis@anchorage.net
(907) 257-2331 direct
(907) 250-5285 cell
(907) 222-3752 fax


Nance Larsen, APR
Vice President, Communications & Marketing Programs
Anchorage Convention & Visitors Bureau
nlarsen@anchorage.net
(907) 276-4118 direct