Building Anchorage: Alutiiq design is a tribute to optimism

News Source: Anchorage Daily News
Publish Date: October 08, 2005

Building Anchorage: Alutiiq design is a tribute to optimism

What: Afognak Native Corp.’s Alutiiq Center. The five-story Class A office building is 71,200 square feet and is valued at $11.4 million, according to an Anchorage permitting official.

Where: 3909 Arctic Boulevard, in Midtown.

Who: Venture Development Group is organizing construction. The architect is Anchorage firm Koonce Pfeffer Bettis. Neeser Construction Inc. is the general contractor. Engineers are Dowl Engineers, RBA Engineers and EDS, said Neil Bhargava, project manager with Neeser. He said major subcontractors include Anchorage companies Last Frontier Mechanical, Megawatt Electric, Alaska Glazing Inc., Industrial Roofing and Wasilla-based Alaska Quality Fire Protection.

Why: The center is to house the Anchorage staff of Afognak, the Native corporation for Alutiiq shareholders from the Kodiak islands. The building is also to be the headquarters of ANC’s Anchorage-based subsidiary, Alutiiq. The Native corporation and Alutiiq together employ 3,800 people nationwide; about 200 are in Alaska, 80 in Anchorage. The building’s contemporary design aims to reflect Afognak’s optimism toward the future, said chief executive Jim Erickson. Images of ancient Alutiiq designs carved in stone are planned for the outside of the building. More modern Alutiiq art is slated for the atrium and museum inside.

When: The building is scheduled to be finished next May.