Project Overview

The projected number of cruise ship visitors to Juneau in 2019 is approximately 1.3 million. This is a 50% increase over 2010 cruise ship passenger arrivals to the community. The popularity of Juneau as a visitor destination has grown dramatically in recent years, and over 90% of tourists arrive via ship. In 2017, Juneau made significant improvements to its downtown cruise ship berthing when two floating cruise ship berths were completed, and moved the ships further from shore. This improvement changed embarkment and disembarkment patterns, opened up the waterfront Seawalk and accommodated larger ships in the community. On the downtown waterfront, one last piece of prime privately and publicly held real estate remains undeveloped. The Port of Juneau wants to be proactive in developing an urban design plan that accommodates the needs of a growing visitor industry, while creating a waterfront that meets
the expectations of the community to create economic opportunities, year-round destinations, and enhance Juneau’s waterfront for locals and tourists alike.

The purpose of this project was to develop a vision and plan for the uplands between Marine Park and Taku Dock that reflects the needs and desires of our community, while enhancing Juneau as a premier port city. A large tract of both privately held land and public land called the Archipelago Property is within the project area. The goal of the Port of Juneau is to develop a plan that fosters private/public partnerships between the City and Borough of Juneau and the private landowner, Morris Communications, catalyzing development while also meeting the needs of the cruise ship visitors, residents, and the private property owner. The urban design plan occurred with support of an extensive public participation process. It will accommodate a variety of activities of interest to local users and visitors, creating a cohesive and balanced downtown waterfront. Understanding the economics and feasibility of the planning effort was also a critical component of this project.

The Preferred Urban Design Plan

The Preferred Marine Park to Taku Dock Urban Design Plan has two implementation phases. Coordination with Morris Communications is required to make the development cost-effective for both parties. The public elements of the Plan will cost an estimated $21.3 million to develop. An analysis of Juneau’s economic indicators show that the visitor industry is now Juneau’s top private sector industry, and investment in the waterfront is expected to attract and sustain increased economic activity to Juneau. The Plan was developed to be compliant with the 2004 Long Range Waterfront Plan.