Anchorage Assembly set to vote on $750K grant for Fairview behavioral health clinic

Mayor Suzanne LaFrance is asking the Anchorage Assembly to approve a $750,000 federal grant that would put a new outpatient behavioral health clinic in the Fairview neighborhood. The vote is scheduled for July 7.

The grant would fund True North Recovery Inc.'s purchase and renovation of the 15,804-square-foot building at 1217 E 10th Ave, currently owned by Access Alaska. The Anchorage Health Department's memorandum to the Assembly states the city has "a significant unmet need for behavioral health care, including treatment for substance use disorder."

The clinic would offer telehealth therapy, medication-assisted treatment, and behavioral health assessments. True North will not deliver crisis services at the site. Mobile outreach and crisis care will continue through partnerships elsewhere in the municipality and through a separately purchased Mobile Command Center vehicle.

A Shifted Scope

The project changed shape during negotiations. True North originally proposed converting a former motel into a residential treatment facility, the use the original Request for Grant Proposals was designed to fund, with a stated intent to develop new shelter beds and rental housing units. After the Anchorage Health Department approved a scope change in September 2025, True North searched for a different property and identified the East 10th Avenue site in April 2026. The proposed outpatient use is by-right under the property's Public Lands and Institutions zoning.

Access Alaska has operated at the building since 2013 and renovated it to be universally accessible for people with disabilities and seniors. The organization is expected to remain. "True North and Access Alaska intend to execute a lease agreement, whereby True North will provide space for Access Alaska to continue operations in the building."

Neighborhood Conditions

Community engagement for the grant ran across multiple meetings: the Fairview Community Council Executive Board on May 4, the full Fairview Community Council on May 14, a True North-Access Alaska open house on June 12, and the Assembly Housing and Homelessness Committee on June 18. The memorandum states that input from those meetings "significantly shaped the proposed service delivery at the facility," a process that helps explain why crisis services are excluded from the site.

As a condition of the grant, True North must co-develop and sign a Good Neighbor Agreement with the Fairview Community Council. Neighborhood stakeholders, as documented in the grant process, have sought binding commitments to address public safety and community impacts as part of any siting of social services facilities. True North will also submit compliance reports to the health department for five years following the end of the period of performance.