New City Hall

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Current Update Information

5-25-22 – Information from the Public Forum held May 19, 2022, can be seen on the “Documents of Interest” tab.


Pie chart visualizing the answers to this question: How supportive are you of CBJ developing a new City Hall versus continuing to rent office space. 39% very supportive, 35% supportive, 8% opposed, 10% very opposed, 9% Don't Know

This past fall the City & Borough of Juneau asked residents to participate in a survey regarding the need for a New City Hall.  A total of 1,326 Juneau residents responded.

74% indicated they were supportive of a new facility with parking for public and staff as the highest ranking factor. Other factors included in the survey were the length of service life, energy efficiency, location, and access.  See all the results of the survey by selecting the Survey Information tab above.

Voters will be asked to decide on a $35M bond this fall to design and construct a New City Hall on city property at 450 Whittier (next door to Zach Gordon Youth Center) in the Aak’w Village District. The proposed new building will be a purpose-built facility designed to be energy efficient with a long service life. It would include an Assembly chambers, public meeting rooms, 36 underground parking spaces and employee offices. The purpose of this FAQ is to help voters understand the project.

How much does the project cost?

The total project cost is $41.3M. The Assembly has appropriated $6.3M in general fund for the project and is asking the voters for the authority to bond for the remaining $35M.

What effect will it have on my property taxes if this bond is approved?

CBJ has substantial debt capacity as many large projects are being paid off in the coming years. The chart here shows that there will be significant capacity in the coming years for this project and others without raising property taxes. If this bond issuance is approved, the debt service portion of the property taxation rate will not increase.

The total annual debt service costs, assuming an interest rate of 4.88%, will be approximately $2.45M. This amount of debt service would require an annual property tax levy of approximately $29.60 per $100,000 of assessed value (assuming that the overall estimated bond tax levy of $42.62 per $100,000 will be reduced due to operational savings by the City and Borough). This example of property tax levy is provided for illustrative purposes only.

Where do CBJ employees work now?

The current City Hall houses less than half of the downtown CBJ workforce. The remaining staff and services are spread out amongst four rented facilities (Marine View Building, Sealaska Plaza, Seadrome Building, and Municipal Way Building). CBJ spends $820,000 a year on rent at these four facilities and has rented office space for more than 30 years.

What is the condition of the current City Hall?

City Hall was originally constructed in the 1950s as the downtown fire station. Needed repairs include: roof replacement, mechanical systems, windows, restrooms, façade work, and painting. City Hall needs over $12M in deferred maintenance to extend the useful life of the facility for 25 years. 

What does CBJ pay to rent its current office space?

CBJ pays a total of $820,000 per year to rent the space necessary for staff and services at four separate facilities (Marine View Building, Sealaska Plaza, Seadrome Building, and Municipal Way Building). CBJ has rented office space for more than 30 years.

How did you land on 450 Whittier Street as the preferred site?

Staff started with suggestions from the public gathered in the survey and eliminated options based on lot or building size, the prospective owner’s willingness to sell, and public access and parking. The Assembly went through two rounds of eliminating sites based on a matrix built from the priorities the public identified in the survey as most important. These included parking, energy efficiency, cost, and long service life. The top four sites that received the most study were:

  1. Status quo (renovating the current facility and continuing to rent);
  2. Downtown Transit Center;
  3. Former Walmart Building; and
  4. 450 Whittier Street

Copies of the matrix used for this analysis can be found here (round 1) and here (round 2).

What about Walmart?

Walmart was a popular option because of the desire to repurpose an existing facility that is an underutilized site, the convenient location between Juneau’s two commercial and residential centers, and the abundance of parking. A lot of work was put into analyzing the site; however the space is almost three times what CBJ needs for a city hall. Renovating a third of the building from a retail warehouse use to an office use, and keeping the remainder as warehouse space would cost approximately $40M, which is on top of $9M to acquire the building. Furthermore, while the building is for sale, the land is owned independently and is only available for a 50-year lease at $271,000 a year. For these reasons, the Assembly chose to eliminate Walmart as a viable option.

What would happen to the vacated downtown office space?

City Hall – Waterfront location; zoned Mixed Use; could be sold or retained for other public uses (up to the Assembly).

Marine View Building – If converted back into apartments with the same floor plan as adjacent floors, conversion would result in 24 apartments (up to the private owner).

Municipal Way – Zoning would allow for residential development.

Seadrome – Goldbelt has plans to demolish and expand the facility for enhanced visitor amenities and mixed use.

Where would people park at New City Hall?

New City Hall would include 36 parking spaces in a garage underneath the building, including dedicated parking for the public to do business at City Hall. The Aak’w Village District has approximately 1,500 surface parking spaces in the general area. Many of these spaces are leased by the State during business hours. However, an assessment of the parking needs has not been done recently, and much has changed. A comprehensive parking study is planned. Additionally, CBJ has received $5M to partner with the State to expand the North State Office Building parking garage. Currently there are 175 parking permits issued to downtown municipal employees, mostly in the Marine Parking Garage. Moving this demand out of the downtown core would open up significant parking capacity for locals. 

How has the public been involved in this project?

New City Hall is an on-going project CBJ has been working on for years. A 2019 effort was re-energized in the fall of 2021 when CBJ surveyed over 1,300 people to collect information on where residents want a city hall, how they use city hall, and their priorities for the facility. Survey results can be found here.

In summary:

  • 74% of respondents were supportive or strongly supportive of a new city hall
  • When asked for recommendation on location, the vacant Walmart building was the top choice (32%), with ‘downtown’ coming in second (27%).
  • Respondents placed a high value on parking.
  • The highest construction priority was that it be designed for a long service life.

The Public Works and Facilities Committee and Committee of the Whole held multiple meetings before landing on 450 Whittier Street as the preferred alternative.  There have also been two public meetings on the topic hosted over Zoom. Materials from the meetings, and recordings of the public meetings, can be found here.

How big will a new city hall be?

A space needs analysis determined municipal functions require 46,200 square feet.  This square footage fits in a 3-story facility on the 450 Whittier Street site with space for a public plaza out front. This is roughly 4,000 square feet less than the space downtown CBJ employees currently occupy. Space needs are based on industry standards for cubicles and open floor plans. Further refining of the space needs will happen as part of the design process if the project is endorsed.