City decision on blighted Gastineau Apartments expected soon

“Nearly two years after a fire destroyed the Gastineau Apartment building in downtown Juneau, the City and Borough of Juneau is yet to take a decisive action against owner James Barrett. However, that may soon change as officials consider options for rehabilitation.

“If something doesn’t happen from the private sector to the private company that owns it then we would be making a decision in the next month or two,” Mayor Merrill Sanford says.

Barrett was notified by the city in a March 6 letter that he had until May 1 to install a temporary roof and clean all debris from inside the building. He was issued a building permit last November to install a heat-shrinked plastic roof, which hasn’t been accomplished.

The building was insured, but no details have emerged as to how much of a payout Barrett received. The building and the land it is on was last valued at $1.22 million by CBJ. The building accounted for $409,800 of that value.

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Canfield, Jennifer. KTOO 7 September 2014.