The Alaska Mental Health Trust is proceeding with plans to sell about 1 acre of land next to the Coast Guard station to a developer who intends to use the space for housing, commercial property and a plant to deliver hot-water heat across downtown Juneau.
On Friday, the Trust published a public notice announcing its decision to sell the property to Develop Juneau Now LLC, a corporation owned by Keith Comstock, the president and CEO of Juneau Hydropower Inc.
The notice appeared in the Empire and the Alaska Dispatch News.
Under the trust’s bylaws, the public can comment on the proposed sale for 20 days. Comments may be sent to mhtlo@alaska.gov before the end of the business day Jan. 16.
Juneau Hydropower Inc. plans to construct a hydroelectric dam to generate electricity from Sweetheart Lake southeast of Juneau. Half the dam’s power is earmarked for Kensington Gold Mine, and the other half is planned for a district heating system that would connect with existing oil-fired boilers across the city.
The system would deliver hot water to those boilers, meaning they wouldn’t have to burn oil to heat the homes and businesses that house them.
MRV Architects is designing the building that will rise between Egan Drive and U.S. Coast Guard Station Juneau.
According to documents provided by the Trust, the acre will sell for $1.3 million. In a previous interview with the Empire’s Samuel DeGrave, Comstock said construction will cost an additional $12 million to $15 million — and that figure does not include the cost of a seawater heat pump and other infrastructure that will be used to generate hot water.
If no public comments are received requesting reconsideration of the land sale, the sale will proceed under the direction of the Trust’s executive director.
