Alyeska Sets Sights on Upper Valley

By Soren Wuerth

TNews Editor

A representative for Alyeska Resort said Wednesday his company hopes to develop a 28-acre swath of forest in Girdwood's upper valley for housing as part of a sweeping master plan that could cost as much as $350 million.

The development would be a "Phase Three" pursuit, said Development Manager Willam Laurie, of Pomeroy, the Canadian hotelier that owns Alyeska Resort.

The proposed housing, near Glacier Creek, would cap other developments on or near the Resort's hotel. In other phases, Pomeroy would lease its land for construction of a new ice rink, recreation center, and childcare center. The resort would also build a new convention hall, a 9,000 square foot ski school, condos, community housing, and what it calls "workforce housing". 

But a plan for an "Alyeska Village", near the hotel, and workforce housing is "to some extent" contingent on whether Pomeroy gets approval from the Assembly to develop what Pomeroy is now calling the "Glacier Creek Community", Laurie said.

Sign welcoming people to the Alyeska Resort. (Photo by Jon Scudder)

Laurie told a packed community hall that Pomeroy "won the rights" to the land in 2021 in a bid on a request for proposal by the Municipality of Anchorage's Heritage Land Bank. 

"We don't own it yet. It's owned by the HLB but we are in the process of acquiring that land. We are completely separate from the other project that was proposed, Holtan Hills," Laurie said.

In 2022, Connie Yoshimura, of CY Investments, and Pomeroy agreed to split HLB land they called "The Girdwood Project" on either side of Glacier Creek. The parties agreed to keep the undisclosed transaction confidential. 

CY Investments would get the "Holtan Hills Subdivision" while Pomeroy would control land for, what it called in the agreement, an "Alyeska Village". 

Robin Wilcox, of Skylab, a Portland-based architectural firm, said housing near Glacier Creek would be "more of a single-family housing development with mixed housing and styles."

"The idea there is that housing could be sized and planned to be nestled into the landscape," Wilcox said.

Laurie said his company chose 27 acres of 70 available to it within constraints of existing trails, wetlands, waterways and topography and ended up with a strip the shape of a fishing hook.

A slide of the area shows 23 single family homes spread out in large lots and about 55 "cluster" homes. 

Robin Wilcox, of Skylab and Pomeroy Development Manager William Laurie, present Pomeroy’s master plan Wednesday to an audience of nearly 100 people online and in the Girdwood Community Hall. (Photo by Soren Wuerth)

"Imagine someone who's lived for 10 years and hasn't had a chance to buy something in Girdwood because they get bid up or the properties are just too expensive, we plan to build quite a few units that have efficient lot sizes that would be more attainable for purchase," Laurie said, adding that the Glacier Creek subdivision would be built after the Alyeska Village and Moose Meadows developments. 

He said Pomeroy would work with the Girdwood Board of Supervisors and Land Use Committee to give longer term residents priority for home purchases.

He said planners wanted the Glacier Creek community to be a "trails-oriented" community due to its proximity to trails. They also envision a parking lot and "warming hut" for skiers.

"Having a nordic ski trail in your backyard is something really cool," Laurie said. 

Additionally, the subdivision would connect to the Alyeska Village with a "horizontal gondola". 

Laurie's and Wilcox's presentation echoed one given five months ago in a "town hall" held at the Sitzmark Bar. The plan amends a 15-year old master plan for the Resort and is outside of the Girdwood Area Plan which is months away from completion. Pomeroy has not been involved in the larger comprehensive plan, according to a member of the planning team.

During a question and answer exchange, residents asked, among other things, about road access, the affordability of housing, how Pomeroy defined "workforce housing", and whether the company was prepared to gather information for an environmental assessment.

About 60 people packed the community hall to hear Pomeroy's development plans. (Photo by Soren Wuerth)

On many questions, Laurie could not give specific answers. He had not yet spoken with DOT regarding the airport plan, did not know the total footprint of development for all phases, and had not identified concessions, like lower taxes or reduced land prices, in exchange for building affordable housing. 

While he said Pomeroy is "not taking parking lightly" given controversy over its postponed proposal to develop its Daylodge parking, Laurie did not know the amount of parking the company was planning, though Pomeroy is planning to clear old-growth forest behind its spa for additional parking through a lease from the state Department of Natural Resources. 

"Coming to this meeting and not being able to tell what your parking numbers are is not appropriate," said Larry Daniels. "You should be thinking this thing through."

Others wondered whether planned housing would truly serve local employees with low wages and little savings.  

"Most of the individuals who [work in Girdwood] are not going to be able to manage a $250,000 to $400,000 mortgage," said Russell Sell, former owner of the now-closed SkiAK shop in Anchorage. "These are busboys. These are lifties. These are mechanics. They are servers. These are people who offer a lot of resources to the community but don't have the ability to come up with the mortgage."

Pomeroy will apply for revisions to its tract plat and hopes to start construction in 2025, Laurie said, with construction on each phase taking "two or three years" to be completed in five to seven years at which time it would develop the Glacier Creek area.

Though some asked, discussion about improvements and changes to ski operations would be addressed at a later time, Laurie said.

"The developments you talked about here today could impact the ski experience," one man said. "A lot of us moved here for skiing. We didn't move here for the resort and other amenities ... When can the community expect to hear about any ski area developments?"

Laurie said he didn't have an answer. "We are in the planning process right now for all those. I couldn't give you an answer right now," he said.

Tim Charnon, a former Forest Service supervisor and newly-appointed HLB commissioner, said decisions to develop the Glacier Creek area may be premature and may be in conflict with other area plans.

Charnon called Pomeroy's development timeline "overly ambitious and, for that reason, it's not right."

"If those are your priorities, let's pursue those priorities, let's be successful, let's learn from those priorities, let's see what works and what doesn't work for our community before we develop a very sensitive area like the upper valley where it may be in conflict with our upcoming land use plan and where it will be conflict with current trail uses."

Jerry Fox, who stood up next, agreed with Charnon.

"The community is worried about that third phase."