Anchorage Assembly approves rezone of old National Archives lot in Midtown, paving way for housing development

The Anchorage Assembly on Tuesday unanimously approved the rezoning of a 9-acre Midtown lot owned by the city that has been occupied by a large homeless encampment for about a year.

The city is seeking to sell the land, and the rezone will allow the land to be developed into high-density multifamily housing, such as apartments, along with some commercial uses. It comes as Anchorage is experiencing a dearth of available housing and as city officials look for ways to encourage new housing development. The measure changes the zoning from an R-3 mixed residential to an R-4A multifamily residential mixed-use zone.

The large lot at 40th Avenue and Denali Street sits adjacent to key public facilities in Midtown — the Loussac Library and Cuddy Family Midtown Park — and has long been seen as a possible site for housing and mixed-use development.

“For me, this is a seminal plot of land in Midtown. It’s an identity-defining type of piece of land,” said Assembly Vice Chair Meg Zaletel, who represents the area. Before voting to approve the measure Tuesday night, Zaletel called for the city to work on a vision for the land and work through a development agreement with a prospective buyer, rather than simply selling it to the highest bidder.

Before approving the measure, Assembly members added a stipulation to the lot’s development: It must include an easement for Fish Creek, in order to restore and “daylight” the natural waterway, which is currently diverted into underground drainage pipes through much of Midtown. The ponds at nearby Cuddy Park are part of the creek’s historical course.

Assembly member Anna Brawley said the change lays out the city’s “broad policy intent” for the long-term project to restore the creek. It directs the dedication of an easement, reserving the space for the future project, but doesn’t require the restoration work to be done by the buyer.

The easement provides for “greenway supportive development,” she said. That means a development that allows for the natural flow of the creek and the integration of natural features into development, Brawley said.

The city purchased the long-empty lot from the federal government in 2017.

The federal National Archives and Records Administration had previously purchased the land from two Anchorage developers for a project to construct a National Archives building that never came to fruition. That project stalled amid an investigation into the connections of the politicians who pushed for the plan.

The city is preparing to dismantle the homeless encampment that sprawls within the lot next week, even though the city lacks sufficient shelter beds. When the city shut down its former Sullivan Arena shelter last year, dozens of people who were left unsheltered began living in the lot, sleeping in tents, vehicles and makeshift shelter structures.

Officials have cited public health concerns as the reason to clean up the site and force homeless residents out.