Fairview grant dispute heads to Assembly with two members urging no vote

Two Anchorage Assembly members are urging colleagues to reject a $750,000 federal grant that would place a behavioral health center in Fairview, arguing the proposal conflicts with a city policy against concentrating social services in that neighborhood. Rejecting the grant would not end True North Recovery's plans outright, since the organization could still purchase the building without municipal funds, but it would forfeit the federal dollars.

The measure, scheduled for the July 21 Assembly meeting, would award Community Development Block Grant funds to True North Recovery Inc. to purchase the former Access Alaska building at 1217 E. 10th Avenue. The Anchorage Launchpad Program planned for the site would offer behavioral health assessments, peer navigation, mobile outreach, and outpatient services. Even if approved, the project still requires environmental review, historic preservation compliance, finalization of a Good Neighbor Policy, and further Assembly approval before it can proceed.

Mayor Suzanne LaFrance pulled the measure from the April 28 Assembly agenda after Fairview residents objected. It returns July 21 after True North revised its proposal.

The Assembly adopted a dispersal policy in 2018 after finding that downtown and Fairview already hosted 82 percent of the city's year-round emergency overnight shelter beds. The policy directs the municipality to first consider dispersed locations across the Anchorage Bowl for new services.

Assembly Vice Chair Daniel Volland filed a policy memo recommending a no vote. "The policy question is not whether the service is valuable," Volland wrote. "The question is whether the Municipality should continue placing region-serving social services in the same small geography, particularly Fairview and east downtown, when the Assembly has already adopted a policy of dispersed placement."

At the July 7 meeting, Volland added: "We have a 2018 adopted policy guidance calling for a dispersed, scattered site model that says we're not going to put things in East Anchorage and Fairview anymore. And that was co-sponsored by then Assemblymember LaFrance."

Assembly Member Sydney Scout documented that Fairview elected officials were not notified of the confirmed site until April 27, 2026, one day before the measure first appeared on the agenda. Residents have questioned why Mountain View or Midtown were not chosen instead. Mountain View leaders have expressed support for locating the project in their neighborhood.

The Anchorage Health Department recommends approval. Mayor LaFrance said True North revised its proposal to focus on outpatient services and administrative office space, with no crisis services at the facility. "I'm excited about the opportunity to bring these much-needed services to the residents of Anchorage," LaFrance said.