Anchorage weighs $470,000 sale of former Government Hill fire station to Chugach Electric

Assembly to consider noncompetitive fire station parcel sale below broker valuation

Anchorage would sell a Government Hill parcel it has owned since 1952 for $470,000, about $49,000 less than a broker valued it a month ago.

The property at 921 Hollywood Drive, at the corner of Elm Street, housed Fire Station No. 2 until the late 1980s. The 4,700-square-foot building, built in 1968, sits on an 8,125-square-foot lot zoned R-2D.

Chugach Electric Association leases the site through August 2030 for a communications tower, equipment space and one vehicle bay. The tower carries fiber connections to substations and Land Mobile Radio coverage for downtown field crews. Chugach reviewed relocation options and found each would carry cost, permitting, engineering and operational risk, according to the administration's memorandum.

The city would sell the parcel without competitive bidding. Under municipal code, the Real Estate Services Division may enter direct negotiations with parties seeking to acquire municipal land, and it did so here rather than putting the parcel out for bid. The municipality also says disposing of the underutilized building would lessen its maintenance and liability burdens.

A broker opinion of value received June 24 put the parcel at $519,000. Real Estate Services found the letter-of-intent purchase price acceptable and in the best interest of the municipality, citing the building's age, condition, reuse limits and possible environmental review. An agency review sent to municipal departments and the Assembly in March drew no objections.

Negotiated sales sit outside the municipality's more routine disposal practice. In that practice, Real Estate Services offers property, including tax-foreclosed parcels, through one-day sealed bid sales with published property profiles and bid packets. The code provision allowing direct negotiation is AMC 25.30.090A.

The ordinance is set for reading before the Anchorage Assembly on Aug. 4.