HousingJuneau · April 28, 2026
juneau hit pause on demolition
Juneau's Assembly delayed the planned demolition of the Telephone Hill neighborhood until developers weigh in on alternatives.
Daily Alaska staff · April 28, 2026 · Juneau
The Juneau Assembly voted to delay the planned summer demolition of Telephone Hill, a city-owned residential neighborhood in a prime downtown location, until it hears back from developers who might want to build on the site. The Assembly plans to issue a request for qualifications to prospective developers before any demolition moves forward.
Drafting the request for qualifications alone will take about two months, and the process then requires at least 90 days for developer responses. That timeline pushes any real decision on the Telephone Hill site to October at the earliest, delaying a project that was set to begin this summer.
The city originally bought the Telephone Hill property from the state and had settled on a plan to demolish the existing homes and rebuild. Not every Assembly member agreed that clearing the site was the right call, and some wanted to see what developers would actually propose before the city spent millions tearing everything down.
Tenants have fought eviction from the property, and a lawsuit over the plan is still pending. The delay means the future of one of downtown Juneau's most sought-after locations remains unsettled for at least several more months.
In this story
Questions people ask
What did the Juneau Assembly decide about Telephone Hill?
It voted to delay the planned summer demolition of the downtown neighborhood until developers respond to a request for qualifications.
When will a decision on Telephone Hill happen?
October at the earliest, after about two months to draft the developer request and 90 days for developers to respond.
Who owns Telephone Hill?
The city of Juneau, which bought the property from the state.
Is there ongoing legal action over the site?
Yes, a lawsuit over the demolition plan is still pending and tenants have fought eviction.
Evidence
Sources
Claims and where they come from
- The Juneau Assembly voted to delay the summer demolition of Telephone Hill pending responses from prospective developers. · alaskapublic.org
- Developer responses to the request for qualifications require at least 90 days. · alaskapublic.org
- Any real decision on the Telephone Hill site is pushed to October at the earliest. · alaskapublic.org
- The city of Juneau bought the Telephone Hill property from the state. · alaskapublic.org
- A lawsuit over the Telephone Hill demolition plan is still pending. · alaskapublic.org
Produced with AI assistance, narrated with Slav Lund's voice clone with his consent, and reviewed by a person before publishing. How we use AI →