About $6 billion was spent on construction in 2005, and that figure is expected to rise by 5 percent to 8 percent in 2006.

As the summer of 2005 came to a close, Neeser Construction wrapped up the new Alaska Psychiatric Institute building, the Fort Richardson Community Learning Center, and the Bristol Bay Native Corp. headquarters building. Projects in process as 2005 comes to a close include the Afognak Native Corp.’s Alutiiq Center and a new medical office building, both in Anchorage. These two projects, approximately $34 million in work, should be complete by the end of summer 2006, according to Gary Donnelly, Neeser’s project administrator.

Neeser’s construction of the Home Depot in South Anchorage was also scheduled for completion in the late fall of 2005, as were teacher housing units and the demolition of the school in Manokotak, and the City of Fairbanks’ downtown fire station and headquarters. Projects on Fort Wainwright, awarded under a MATOC, currently total more than $80 million.

“One of the projects,” Donnelly said, “is the Alert Holding/Pallet Processing Facility, which will be finished before winter this year. The Junior NCO housing project will finish up in February of ’06, and we just started the Whole Barracks Renewal Phase 4A and a Company Operations Facility. Those should be complete by the end of September next year.” Looking ahead into next summer’s season, Donnelly counted nearly $145 million in projects–the new Hooper Bay school and the new rental car parking facility for the Anchorage
airport. Donnelly speculated that Neeser may be able to break ground on the parking facility in late 2005, and said completion of this project is set for September of 2006. He also added the Salvation Army’s Safe Campus, between C and A streets just south of 15th Avenue in Anchorage, to his project list.

“We’re working together with them,” Donnelly said, “so that as they raise their funding, we can begin construction. We’ve already done the utility infrastructure, and we may be able to break ground next spring.”

One of the largest projects facing Neeser in the near future is the design and construction of Anchorage’s new convention center. Donnelly said that project is currently in the design process, and he anticipates groundbreaking to take place next spring.