Juneau assembly approves $5.5 million first-phase plan for Telephone Hill site

The City and Borough of Juneau Assembly Committee of the Whole on May 5 approved a phased, city‑led first phase for Telephone Hill that funds demolition, site preparation and replatting and directs staff to pursue private development of the prepared lots.

The decision follows a staff presentation from Manager Andrew Kester outlining four options and a place‑guide developed through more than a year of public outreach. Kester said Telephone Hill — conveyed from the state to CBJ in February — contains roughly 2.5 acres of developable land on top of the hill and that replatting is necessary because existing property lines cut through buildings. “Telephone Hill was conveyed from the state of Alaska to CBJ in February,” Kester said. “We’ve spent over a year, in a pretty extensive public process … and the assembly picked Concept C” as the preferred vision.

The assembly selected “scenario 2,” the phased approach recommended by staff and the consultant First 40 Feet, which funds demolition, hazardous‑materials abatement, some excavation to create buildable pads and a replat to produce four developable lots. The assembly voted 8‑1 to approve…