Sunshine Mall owners ask city to vacate easements under 4th Avenue arcades

Owners of downtown Anchorage's Sunshine Mall block are asking the city to give up two public easements under their 4th Avenue arcades, which they plan to enclose. The Anchorage Platting Board holds a public hearing on the request Wednesday, Nov. 18, at 6:30 pm in the Assembly Chambers at the Loussac Library. The Planning Department recommends approval.

The petitioners are Alaska Mint LLC, Sunshine Plaza LLC and Alaska Marketplace Limited Partnership. They own three lots on the block between C and E streets and 3rd and 4th avenues. They want to vacate a 12-foot sidewalk easement along 4th Avenue and a 20-foot public use easement to the north that replaced the block's alley under a 1968 urban renewal plat.

The staff report says the owners' plan "includes enclosing the arcade mall areas" as part of a broader improvement to Alaska Marketplace and Sunshine Plaza. In their application, the owners say the arcades of the 1975 Alaska Marketplace and 1977 Sunshine Plaza buildings already sit over both easements. They say curbs, sidewalks, a retaining wall and the buildings above make the old alley unusable for vehicles. City Traffic Engineering agrees the sidewalk easement is not needed.

Utilities set conditions. Chugach Electric objects to vacating the 20-foot easement because its electrical lines are in it, unless the easement is kept for utilities, the lines are moved at the owner's expense or Chugach gets its own easement. ENSTAR objects unless it gets a 15-foot easement over a gas line. AWWU does not object if the developer records a water and sewer easement. Staff condition approval on resolving utility easements.

At a Downtown Community Council meeting Jan. 7, the owners described 15 apartments on the top floor, restaurant, retail and open market space on the middle floor and a grocery store on the first. The owners' summary says about 20 to 25 people attended and comments were all positive "as long as the stairs between buildings is to remain."

The city had received no public comments when staff wrote the report.