Borough officials continue working to put together the pieces of a comprehensive development plan for the former 6-Mile Mill property, which could include sharing the cost with JAG Marine Group of a feasibility study for constructing a large-vessel shipyard at the site.

The feasibility study would include preliminary design and rough cost estimates, said Borough Manager Mason Villarma.

In addition to using the results in Wrangell’s efforts to secure up to $50 million in federal grant money for both the 6-Mile development and downtown waterfront expansion, the borough would use the feasibility study in its pitch for the U.S. Coast Guard, U.S. Navy and other agencies to commit to use the shipyard, Villarma said.

Seattle-based JAG, which took over operation of the state-owned shipyard in Ketchikan this past fall, has signed an agreement with Wrangell to negotiate lease terms on borough-owned property at 6-Mile for possible development of a shipbuilding, repair and marine services facility.

The agreement says JAG and the borough share the goal of drafting a lease for assembly consideration by summer.

The company also operates a shipyard in Seward, and in Michigan and Virginia.

“They would like the borough to partner with them” on early-stage design and cost estimating for the Wrangell project, Kate Thomas told the borough’s economic development board on Jan. 5. The study could cost up to $1 million, she said, with JAG asking for a 50-50 split.

Thomas, the borough’s economic development director, called the possibility of a large-scale shipyard in town: “Probably the greatest opportunity Wrangell has ever seen.”

“It’s something we’re looking at,” Villarma said of a 50-50 cost share. “But I don’t know if it’s a million dollars,” noting that the borough already has assembled a lot of information on the property and its potential.

Assembly members voted last month to hire PND Engineers for almost $237,000 for early design and environmental work for the 6-Mile and downtown waterfront projects.

The economic development board voted 5-0 to recommend assembly approval of the lease for JAG Marine Group, with comments that the company needs to meet with the community and lay out its plans for employment and job training.

The company has requested a 50-year lease of borough-owned property “to develop and operate a full-capacity shipyard and large-vessel repair facility,” Thomas reported to the five-member citizens advisory board.

The Dec. 4 lease application asks for almost 30 acres of the property, though the amount could change as the borough maps out a plan for the site.

In its lease application, JAG said it would “develop a full-capacity shipyard” for fabrication, construction and repair of ships up to 600 feet long.

The 6-Mile development effort, along with borough plans to expand the downtown waterfront and replace the flume at the town’s reservoirs, will be on the agenda for a town hall meeting Feb. 17, Villarma said.

The borough website shows the meeting will be at 5:30 p.m., at a location to be announced.

The public information session will be led by two contractors to the borough: Rain Coast Data, which has helped Wrangell with economic data and consulting for several years; and Corvus Design, which has won awards for its design work at the Anan Wildlife Observatory and Wrangell Mariners’ Memorial.

In addition to JAG Marine Group, the 6-Mile deepwater port development plan includes moving the community’s barge landing and freight yard from downtown to the property. The borough and Alaska Marine Lines are in talks over construction and lease terms of a new barge loading and offloading facility.

A California-based company, Greensparc, is considering building a small data center on the property, leasing land from the borough for its business that sells time on computer servers for clients.

The borough purchased the 42-acre property for $2.5 million in 2022. Less than 10 acres at the southern end was carved out at the southern end of the lot and traded to Tideline Construction in exchange for clearing the entire area of leftover debris and leveling the land to prepare for future use.

Tideline has run a scrap metal recycling operation in Wrangell for several years, and moved its construction business to Wrangell from Juneau last year.

The company has been working since mid-November to dismantle the 360-foot-long American Empress, an unused cruise ship owned by American Cruise Lines. The cruise company is in talks with the borough of repurposing the hull of the ship as a floating dock for its ships at a new downtown development.