By: James Brooks, Alaska Beacon
The Juneau Community Foundation is giving the Alaska Legislature 16 two-bedroom apartments as part of a long-term effort to keep the state’s capital in Juneau.
Members of the House-Senate Legislative Council voted unanimously to accept the apartments, which are spread across two four-plexes and one eight-plex in the Starr Hill and Chicken Ridge neighborhoods, respectively.
The new acquisition follows the Legislature’s acceptance of the Assembly Building by a similar donation in 2022. That building has 33 apartments for legislators and is regularly in use.
Under the terms of the donation, the Juneau Community Foundation will buy the three new buildings, renovate them and turn them over to the Legislature once the renovations are complete.
Fifty-seven of the Legislature’s 60 members do not live permanently in Juneau; there will be 49 legislative housing units when the renovations finish.
Reed Stoops, a lobbyist, is a member of the board of the Juneau Community Foundation and helped organize the latest housing donation.
“Basically any kind of improvement that will make the Legislature function better in Juneau, we’ll do,” he said.
The ultimate goal is to give the Legislature more housing options to keep legislative sessions in Juneau, “especially during a special session like this,” he said.
Juneau is visited by more than 1.5 million tourists per year in the summer, and housing becomes scarce between April and September. Historically, legislators and staff have struggled to find housing for special sessions that take place during the summer.
The Legislature hasn’t yet decided how much rent it will charge legislators who live in the new apartments. Legislators living in the Assembly Building are charged market-rate rents based on the size of the apartment.
“Many on this council are strongly supportive and excited about Juneau Community Foundation’s donation, and just really thankful for it,” said Rep. Ashley Carrick, D-Fairbanks and a member of the Legislative Council.
“Juneau is an incredibly welcoming community, and this is just yet another example of why we should keep the capital in Juneau,” she said.
