27 apartments where polaris stood

The City of Fairbanks received a single response to its request for proposals on the old Polaris Building site at 123 Lacey Street. The Urban Coalition, Fairbanks Neighborhood Housing Services and Bettisworth North submitted a joint plan called Polaris Commons, a phased mixed retail and affordable housing project. Phase one calls for a four-story building on the Lacey Street lot with ground floor retail, a cafe, specialty retail and a community room, plus 27 one-, two- and three-bedroom apartments.

Proposed rents in the plan range from $807 to $1,896 depending on the tax credit subsidy attached to each unit. Phase one is estimated at $23.8 million, funded through the Alaska Housing Finance Corporation's GOAL program, federal Low-Income Housing Tax Credits, the National Housing Trust Fund, Northrim Bank financing and a proposed $425,000 land loan from the city.

Phase two would sit on the city-owned parking lot on Noble Street between First and Second Avenue, with the Fairbanks Neighborhood Housing Services office on the ground floor and 10 more apartments above. Parking for the project would use the Lavery Transportation Center garage.

The 11-story, 144-unit Polaris Building stood for 72 years after it was built in 1951. The city demolished it last year using $13 million in state and federal funding. Chief of Staff Mike Sanders said the city's evaluation team flagged the plan's heavy reliance on tax credits and the absence of a construction timeline, and whichever project is chosen must break ground within 12 months. Mayor Mindy O'Neall called the proposal promising but said she was disappointed only one group submitted a bid. The city council will hear the full presentation at its September 8 work session.