Old Fairbanks high-rise is not long for this world. Here’s what some residents want to see in its place.

FAIRBANKS, Alaska (KTUU) – The Fairbanks community will soon wave goodbye to the 72-year-old high-rise on the corner of Lacey Street and First Avenue, but what will replace Fairbanks’ formerly tallest building — the Polaris — is a question that remains unanswered.

The Polaris Working Group is generating ideas to bring before the Fairbanks City Council, but for now, those meetings are happening behind closed doors.

As for what folks want to see who almost every day walk by the once 11-story — now seven-story — decrepit structure, it’s a mixed bag.

On Friday, Alaska’s News Source talked with multiple people who work in the vicinity of the Polaris Building — people who witnessed firsthand the deconstruction of the top four stories this summer.

“I think the most direct thing that would be great for the community is something for the community,” said Ella Iorga, the manager of the Fudge Pot, an eatery just across Lacey Street from the Polaris.

“Maybe a small park, maybe more geared towards children, or perhaps an area where events could happen, like rock’n’roll nights or music, just things like that,” she said.

A block down Fairbanks’ snowy sidewalks, Big Ray’s Sales Floor Representative Elijah Plante said he’s been working at the location for two years and watching the construction team tear down the Polaris “slowly but surely.”

Like Iorga, he believed a small park would make sense, and also floated the idea of a monument.

“I don’t really think we need to see another shopping plaza or some sort of service building there,” he said. “Just to get it out of the way — because it’s been there for so long — I think it would be a nice relief for some people to enjoy the downtown experience.”

One pedestrian signal across First Avenue from the Polaris sits Rabinowitz Courthouse, where visitors are often first greeted by Courthouse Security Officer Breezh Brandy.

“I haven’t really thought about it,” Brandy said when first asked about what should replace the high-rise across the street.

She ultimately posited the idea of a miniature drive-in movie theater, or a year-round space where local business owners can cycle through as vendors to display their wares.

“I think it would be cool to see different people coming in and out, showing their stuff,” she said.

The notion of a new parking lot emerged in two of the interviews — with Iorga and Plante — but their opinions diverged.

Iorga said a location for free business parking would be beneficial for people who work in the area, with the street parking next to her story having two-hour limits.

“I either have to move my car every two hours, or find a place far away to park, and when it’s negative-40 [degrees], it’s not very friendly,” she said.

A 2023 Fairbanks North Star Borough parking analysis found that parking vacancy rates averaged 25% in the downtown core.

“This suggests that at any given time there are 3 vacant parking spaces for every space that is occupied,” the analysis says. “This creates an environment with many gaps in buildings, potentially making walk distances greater.”

Plante, at Big Ray’s, has an opinion more in line with that analysis’ conclusion.

“I wouldn’t want to see another parking lot or plaza because I feel like it takes away from the vibe that we get here in downtown, with Second Avenue having a lot of stores that have been here for almost ages, it feels like,” he said.

In 2022, U.S. Sen. Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska, helped acquire $10 million in federal appropriations from the Environmental Protection Agency for Polaris’ demolition.

That tally came on top of the $3 million for which the city successfully lobbied the state Legislature and $1 million provided by the Fairbanks North Star Borough.

The demolition was originally scheduled for completion in October of this year; that timeline has since been pushed back a year, with the City of Fairbanks’ expecting their contractor, Coldfoot Engineering, to wrap up deconstruction by October 2025 at the latest.

Five calls to the City of Fairbanks to learn the latest from the Polaris Working Group went unanswered Friday. Alaska’s News Source left two voicemails, which were not returned prior to publication.

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