Both the the University of Alaska Southeast and the City and Borough of Juneau have expressed interest in the Auke Bay Marine Station, and now they’ll try and share it.
CBJ Docks & Harbors and UAS announced Thursday that they’re working on a joint proposal to submit to the federal General Services Administration (GSA) that would effectively split the property between the two entities.
The 4-acre facility, formerly owned by National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), overlooks Statter Harbor and became available last year. Both CBJ and UAS submitted letters of interest in April 2016 to GSA, which manages federal buildings. Now they’re working together, as UAS would use the southeast portion of the station while CBJ would have the northwest area.
UAS plans to use its part of the facility for research and education in marine biology, biology, environmental science and geography. Docks & Harbors intends to expand Statter Harbor to almost double its current capacity, building a larger breakwater and more moorage.
The two organizations are still putting the proposal together, but GSA sees it as benefitting the community as a whole, per a release. CBJ Port Engineer Gary Gillette said in the release that the two sides have worked together to find a solution to benefit both entities and Juneau as a whole.
“We believe that we have a long-range vision that will serve the community for years to come,” Gillette said.
