Brief talk about the future of the city-owned Polaris Building property arose at the Fairbanks City Council meeting Monday night.
Mayor David Pruhs told the council there’s a two-year plan in the works for attracting an occupant to the site of the 72-year-old building, which sits half-demolished at the corner of Lacey Street and First Avenue.
The city’s contractor, Coldfoot Environmental, abated the structure and toppled four stories last construction season. The city expects Coldfoot to complete the remaining demolition by this October – approximately one year behind the original deadline. The building’s annex came down in 2023.
“We’re now looking at development versus destruction. And with that, we have – we’re working on a Plan A and a Plan B,” he said.
The “we” Pruhs is referencing is a working group formed to facilitate development of the real estate. Their meetings are not open to the public.
Pruhs says the group’s Plan A involves leasing or selling the property to a private buyer who’d present plans the council would have to approve before money changes hands. He says the working group is prepping an official letter that they’ll release on March 20 to gauge market interest.
Two months after that letter is published, interested parties will have another four to six months to create and deliver formal plans and budgets.
Then, there’s the other option.
“Plan B is if we do not have anyone who wants to build on the property during the next, say two to 10 years, Plan B is what the city would do with the property,” he said. “So I created a subgroup in the Polaris Working Group to get together and give us ideas of what we can do with the property and make it an attraction for downtown at an affordable cost.”
Pruhs told the council they’re aiming 2026 or 2027 to kick off construction at the site if it’s leased or sold. If the city spearheads development, he said May 2026 is the target date.
“With the timing of this, we’ll know the amount of funding on Plan B by October 1, and what we’d have to put into the budget to fund anything that we do down there for approval,” he said.
The city’s fiscal year aligns with the calendar year. Budgeting season for the City of Fairbanks usually runs from late October – when the mayor proposes a budget – to December – when the council approves of the final version.
Pruhs said the working group will “not let the property sit vacant,” and that they’ll loop in the council as they reach important junctures.