Hatcher Pass project moves forward

MAT-SU -- Hatcher Pass is back on the drawing board.

JL Properties Inc. received notice Wednesday they were chosen to move on to the next phase of a process set out by the Mat-Su Borough Assembly in August. Borough Manager John Duffy said after a sit-down meeting with the principals of the project, they will be asked to put forward a formal proposal for development in the borough-owned land at Hatcher Pass.

"I'm very excited about it," Duffy said Wednesday evening after he notified JL Properties they had been selected to move forward on the project. "It's a very strong team."

The process is somewhat different than envisioned by the assembly in August. Expecting to get a field of applicants, the proposal process was set up to narrow the field of firms who had responded to the borough's request for qualifications. But Duffy said he believes the team approach JL Properties is proposing could be strong enough to pull the project off.

According to information sent to the borough by JL Properties, the company has put together a project team in which JL Properties is responsible for project financing, design and development, but plans to tap into other firms to assist with specific aspects of the project.

The firm JL Properties has selected as lead contractor on the project is not new to the borough's Hatcher Pass proposal. Anchorage-based Davis Constructors, headed by Greg Romack, was the key player in Hatcher Pass Development Corp., the company that previously held the lease to the approximately 3,000 acres of Hatcher Pass land now owned by the borough.

At the time HPDC pulled out of the project, Romack cited several concerns about the feasibility of the project -- the need for utilities at the site, an unwillingness to use general obligation bonds to fund the project, and difficulties associated with developing a portion of land near the southern end of the property. Since the pullout in March 2001, the borough and Matanuska Electric Association have been working to get underground line extensions into the area. Talk about using general obligation funds to pay for development at Hatcher Pass has since fizzled. The borough funded a study of the land under the area proposed for the ski lodge, and tested to see if it would hold a working septic system, as well as testing in the south side soils for developability.

Duffy said he's encouraged that Romack, and Davis Constructors, are part of the project team.

"They have a better understanding of what it's going to take to do something like this," Duffy said.

Other firms that are part of JL Properties' development team have been involved in Hatcher Pass as well. Land Design North is completing a master plan for the area, and working with members of the borough's Planning Commission and Parks, Recreation and Trails Board to develop a Hatcher Pass Special Use District, which will incorporate the Hatcher Pass Management Plan, the plan which governed land use while the area was owned by the state.

RIM Architects is involved with the project as well. They're the Anchorage design firm that recently completed the renovation of the University Center Mall in Anchorage, previously worked as the on-site architect for the Alyeska Prince Hotel and Tram, designed the day lodge in Girdwood, and provided, as part of a team, the architecture for the Alaska Native Heritage Center.

Also involved in the team is Harry Measure and Associates, a resort planning firm that has worked on projects near Banff, Alberta and at Whistler, British Columbia. Bill Spencer with HDR Alaska has signed on with the project as well. Spencer has worked on designing several trails around Anchorage, but brings with him background as a member of the U.S. World Championship Ski Team, the U.S. National Ski Cross-country Team, and a 1988 Olympic competitor.

JL Properties' Chief Executive Officer Jonathan Rubini did not return a phone call Thursday morning about the company's selection, but information sent to the borough indicated both a familiarity with the past difficulties of the project and a high level of confidence.

"JL is excited by the prospect of participating in the development of the Hatcher Pass area," a Nov. 14 letter by Rubini stated. "Like many others, JL observed the prior efforts to realize this elusive goal -- oftentimes, admittedly with a degree of skepticism. We have reviewed the many plans and marketing studies which analyzed prospective development. Now, with the road improvements complete and the land and infrastructure contributions contemplated by the borough, JL sees the development as achievable."