The Mayor of Anchorage has accepted bids for a new city hall or renovations to the existing one.
A request for proposal was issued by the Municipality of Anchorage on Feb. 11, 2025, seeking proposals to provide office space for an alternative or renewed City Hall, as the current lease for the existing City Hall at 632 West 6th Ave. is set to expire on Dec. 31, 2026. Proposals were due by March 12.
The purpose of the RFP is threefold: to identify potential locations and facility concepts for a new or renewed City Hall, assess the concept feasibility, advantages, and disadvantages; to estimate development costs and propose terms for conceptual agreements; and to evaluate proposers’ credentials and experience.
The current Anchorage City Hall, built in 1962 and leased from Anchorage Public Private Partnership LLC, has 145,416 square feet of gross building area, with 132,674 square feet of rentable office space, housing approximately 375 employees across departments such as the Mayor’s office, Finance, IT, and Human Resources. The lease includes an option to purchase at 97% of fair market value.
Proposers were invited to offer flexible solutions, such as purchasing or leasing an existing or new building, renewing the current City Hall lease, or redeveloping it. Additional options mentioned in the RFP include integrating telework, co-locating the Anchorage Health Department (currently at 825 L Street with 71,691 square feet and 126 employees), or using vacant space at the Planning and Permitting Center.
The proposed facility must provide around 150,000 square feet of rentable space, be within Anchorage (and the RFP specifies it should be preferably in the downtown), ensure public transit and parking access, and support seamless operations for all listed departments by Jan. 1, 2027.
Proposals were to have included a development team with key roles for financial lead, architect, property manager, a management plan, site concepts, cost estimates (covering design, construction, and relocation), and potential public financing needs.
Submissions were limited to 20 pages and must address specific criteria: team qualifications (10 points), experience (10 points), project narrative (20 points), site plan/renderings (20 points), financial capacity (20 points), and benefits to the Municipality (20 points), totaling 100 points.
According to the RFP, an evaluation committee will score proposals, potentially followed by interviews with up to three shortlisted proposers, leading to contract negotiations with the highest-ranked proposer.
The award is anticipated to be announced within 30 days.
