Juneau's plan to move city hall leans on a sale that's coming up short

Juneau's plan to sell its old City Hall and move into a renovated building rests on a sale that, so far, isn't happening at the price the plan needs. The city set a $2.5 million minimum to sell the building — but the only publicly known offer, from Sealaska Heritage Institute, is $1.5 million, a full million short of the floor.

The other end of the move isn't cheap either. The renovation of the Burns Building, where the city would relocate, won't be finished until at least May 2027 — nearly a year out — and that delay alone pushes the city's lease costs about $328,000 over budget, with the renovation bids themselves at risk of coming in high.

Which is where the money gets circular. To cover potential overruns, City Manager Katie Koester has floated tapping the city's Lands Fund — to be repaid, the plan goes, with the proceeds from selling City Hall. That's the same sale now drawing bids a million dollars under its floor. And waiting isn't free: mothballing the empty City Hall runs $50,000 to $85,000 a year, on top of the vandalism and upkeep risks of a vacant building.