Chugach Alaska Breaks Ground on ‘Village in the City’
Chugach Alaska Corporation officials and friends gather for the Village in the City groundbreaking, although construction is scheduled mainly for 2027.
Photo Credit: Alaska Business
A vacant lot in the middle of the city is coming to life as a village. Chugach Alaska Corporation, in cooperation with its nonprofit affiliates, broke ground this week on a multi-phase project called Village in the City. The first phase planned for the property on 36th Avenue near Old Seward Highway in Midtown Anchorage will include commercial space for Chugach Alaska subsidiaries, tribal services offices, and a museum of Chugach heritage.
Four-Quadrant Development
The 4.35-acre lot has been vacant for years while Chugach Alaska and its partners coordinated the development plans. The first phase will provide expanded capacity for Chugach Tribal Services to deliver its workforce development and wellness programs. Chugach Heritage Foundation will use the building as a base to distribute scholarships to Chugach Alaska shareholders and descendants while coordinating the culture camp on Hinchinbrook Island in Prince William Sound. And the Chugach Museum has been looking forward to having a home since 2022, when the Exxon Valdez Oil Spill Trustee Council awarded a $6.2 million grant to create an archive and repository.
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“The Chugach Museum is going to be a game changer. It will give neighbors, tourists, and school groups a place to truly connect with the history, traditions, and impact of the region’s first people,” says Anchorage Mayor Suzanne LaFrance. “It is going to bring a whole new energy to Midtown.”
Plans for the 4.35-acre property will add three more buildings to the Phase 1 resource center and archive/museum.
Photo Credit: KPB Architects | Chugach Alaska Corporation
Chugach Alaska has owned the property for years and is donating it for the purpose of creating the multifunctional campus.
“This effort has been focused on building something practical, functional, and aligned with who we are, as a Chugach organization,” says Chugach Alaska President Katherine Carlton. “The goal is straightforward: to create a space that reflects our culture, supports our Alaska Native people, and serves as a central point for services, workforce development, and community engagement.”
The shared building on the first quadrant, with access from 36th Avenue, is scheduled for completion by the end of summer 2028. Additional phases are planned for two thirty-two unit apartment buildings, as well as childcare and on-site retail, immediately adjacent to shops, restaurants, offices, and attractions in the neighborhood. Alaska Native Tribal Health Consortium owns the extended-stay hotel next door.
“There’s probably nowhere in Midtown Anchorage where you’re going to see land like this, with a project like this, that will affect generations to come,” says Chugach Alaska Board Chair Sheri Buretta.
LaFrance adds, “When I look at your vision for Village in the City, I see a mirror of what we want for our entire community.”
