Southcentral Foundation seeks business zoning for 4.3 acres on Alaska Native Health Campus

Southcentral Foundation has asked the city to rezone 4.3 acres at the northeast corner of the Alaska Native Health Campus from residential office to general business. The Anchorage Planning and Zoning Commission takes up the request Monday, and city planners recommend approval. The commission will make a recommendation, and the Anchorage Assembly makes the final decision.

The two parcels on Tudor Centre Drive hold the Nuka Learning and Wellness Center and the Bird Ridge Building childcare facility. University Lake Park lies to the north, and single- and two-family homes lie to the east. The foundation's application says these are the only residential office parcels in the eastern part of the campus.

Both current uses are allowed under the existing and proposed zoning, according to the Planning Department staff analysis. The foundation wants long-range planning flexibility and zoning that matches the rest of the campus, the report said. The application says no redevelopment is planned, and that setbacks and landscaping required next to homes under the new zoning would keep a buffer with the neighborhood.

City code describes the residential office district as meant for professional, business and outpatient medical offices, or a mix of offices and homes. The parcels also carry special limitations that list permitted uses and cap building height. General business, or B-3, zoning is meant mainly for commercial uses and allows a wide range of offices, retail and services, plus housing, community uses and mixed-use projects.

Planning staff found the request meets all three approval criteria. The Anchorage 2040 Land Use Plan, as amended by the Assembly, designates the land a Main Street Corridor, and B-3 is one of the zones that carries out that designation.

State and city reviewing agencies raised no objections, according to the agency comment packet. The department mailed 147 hearing notices Sept. 24 and has received no public comments. The UMed/Tudor Community Council passed a resolution supporting the rezone, and the Campbell Park Community Council was also notified.