In a recent front-page article of the Juneau Empire was a demolition plan, referring to Telephone Hill, advanced by the Assembly; another hopeless attempt to save the downtown businesses.
Whenever a larger central business section takes over a smaller one the smaller one loses its business section. A good example is the way Downtown Juneau handled the Douglas business center many years ago.
Now Downtown Juneau is faced with a much larger population center that covers an area from Lemon Creek, Mendenhall Valley and on out the road. This population center has at least four malls in direct competition with downtown Juneau businesses (Nugget Mall, Jordan Creek Center, Mendenhall Mall, Vintage Business Park, plus a large industrial area); when a secondary bridge is developed to North Douglas, all of the North Douglas population will most likely purchase from this larger business section.
So the days of the downtown Juneau business section are numbered. A question has to be asked: who would want to permanently live there? Bartlett Hospital is actually closer to the Mendenhall Valley so, Downtown Juneau is not a particularly good place for retirees either. In the end downtown Juneau will only be good for government offices and a tourist attraction. So, Assembly, please rethink your plan; it is just a waste of money at a time when money is short.
Jack Marshall
Juneau