State opens comment on 50-year airport cargo warehouse lease in Anchorage

A 50-year commitment to cargo use through 2076

Nearly two acres of land at Ted Stevens Anchorage International Airport would be committed to an air cargo warehouse until 2076 under a lease the state opened for public comment Tuesday.

The Alaska Department of Transportation and Public Facilities proposes granting a successive lease to Anchorage Logistics RE, LLC. The premises cover 82,715 square feet at Block 5, Lot 28A. The 50-year term would begin Oct. 1, 2026, and end Sept. 30, 2076. Annual rent is $14,888.70, or 18 cents per square foot. Authorized uses are construction, operation and maintenance of an air cargo warehouse or terminal building, and subleasing to tenants. The state lists the agreement as Lease ADA-32707.

The rate matches the 18 cents per square foot the state proposed in its earlier Alaska Cargo and Cold Storage notice at the airport. It sits above the 12 cents in a Lake Hood lease Alaska News covered in May. The parcels, sizes and authorized uses differ, so the rates are not necessarily directly comparable.

At a Feb. 20 focus group for the state's Long Range Transportation Plan, airport planner Ian Moore said "Anchorage's strategic location and sustained high cargo throughput keep ANC among the top global and leading U.S. cargo airports."

Airport leadership and cargo project proponents argue that leases like this one add the warehouse and cargo-handling infrastructure operators need. They say long-term agreements create stability for private investment. Airport land-use critics counter that a 50-year term can commit scarce airport land to one use for generations, limiting flexibility if cargo patterns or airport planning priorities change.

How to comment

Written comments go to Andy Dinsmore at the airport leasing office. Comments may be sent by email to [email protected] or by mail to P.O. Box 196960, Anchorage, Alaska, 99519-6960, and must arrive by 4:30 p.m. Aug. 27. The department then decides whether to execute the lease. The lease file is available for review during regular business hours, Monday through Friday, at the leasing office in Room C3980 on the third floor of the South Terminal, 5000 W. International Airport Road.