AIDEA continues Valley loan participation program

WASILLA — The Alaska Industrial Development and Export Authority continues to find things to like about the Valley’s growth.

IDEA, a public corporation of the state of Alaska, recently announced another round of loan participation programs for the area, with the latest projects a mixture of medical and retail.

While AIDEA’s more than $10 million in funding involves the refinancing of loans on two existing buildings, the corporation’s biggest outlay is going toward the construction of a new medical office building in the Meridian Park medical complex off Seward Meridan Parkway in Wasilla. The area has seen marked growth in the last six years with a range of medical-related tenants.

“Each of these loan participations is a good business decision for AIDEA, and also a reflection of our growing involvement in the Mat-Su region,” AIDEA external affairs officer Karsten Rodvik wrote in an email.

The newest medical building, a two-story, 38,500-square-foot facility, is being planned primarily as a surgery center, according to Todd Nugent, the project developer and owner of general contracting firm Howdie Inc. Along with the surgery center, the facility will house a surgeon’s clinic and a pharmacy. Nugent said the building should be open by early 2017.

The AIDEA participation included a loan of $7,020,000, which comprised 90 percent of the package. According to AIDEA, First National Bank Alaska originated the loan and will participate with $780,000.

“We were happy with the AIDEA deal,” Nugent said. “That area has become somewhat of a medical district. Both sides of Seward Meridian offer medical related services and convenient access.”

Another facility in the complex, one of the Capstone Family Medicine buildings, was part of a $2,430,000 AIDEA refinancing package. First National Bank Alaska is participating with the remaining $270,000 of the loan.

Dr. Wade Erickson and his wife Heather opened the Capstone Clinic in 2010. It was the first building in Meridan Park, which now boasts an urgent care, pediatric dentistry office and pain clinic, among others.

“We opened there in 2010 with expansion in mind,” Erickson said. “That area is ideal, especially with its proximity to the hospital. We’re only six minutes away.”

Another refinancing package went to City Center Wasilla, LLC, for its newly constructed 8,937-square-foot retail strip mall — unit 4A — located off Knik-Goose Bay Road. That refinancing loan totaled $1,080,000, with FNBA participating with $120,000.

“There is continued strong demand for healthcare facilities in the Mat-Su, due to population growth,” Rodvik wrote. “Regarding our loan to the retail operation, the Palmer-Wasilla commercial market has experienced strong growth over the past decade. The owners are very experienced in commercial development and management.”

The corporation’s latest announcement comes on the heels of the opening of the Extreme Fun Center in Wasilla April, another project in which AIDEA provided about 90 percent of the loan funding for that $6 million facility.

Contact reporter Steven Merritt at 352-2269 or steven.merritt@frontiersman.com