Prior to last week's assembly meeting on Aug. 11, the Wrangell Borough Assembly held a work session to consider future renovations to the old Institute Property. The Institute Property, located near Shoemaker Harbor, has been zoned "holding" since 2011 while the borough came to a decision on how to renovate it. A master plan was developed in 2017, according to the meeting's agenda packet, but not much progress has been made since then. The work session that night was to consider how the assembly would like to move forward with planned renovations, and whether they be geared towards residential or commercial properties.
The Wrangell Planning and Zoning Commission has discussed the Institute Property across multiple meetings. According to the agenda packet, they recommended that some commercial development be made available within Phase I of renovations. However, city administration did not feel this was necessary.
"Administration is recommending that all of Tracts 1, 2, and 3 be designed for residential only, reserving commercial activity for future phases and located on the south side of the creek that bisects the property."
During the workshop, the assembly largely agreed that the development of residential property should be the priority. Wrangell has a need for new homes, several assembly members said. They were also generally in agreement that commercial development, later on, should be kept to one side of the property. Upon further discussion, the assembly also agreed that they would like to see the size of the lots increased, saying that bigger lots would attract more interest than smaller ones.
"I'm in favor of starting with all residential, and then later on developing commercial," Assembly Member Patty Gilbert said.
While the assembly wanted to move forward with residential development as the priority, there were still questions about the property's future development. Mayor Steve Prysunka asked how development of new properties might impact existing property values. Borough Manager Lisa Von Bargen said there would certainly be an impact on the housing market, but there has not been an economic study done on it. Economic Development Director Carol Rushmore added that a housing analysis was done during the development of the 2017 master plan. It shows that housing is sorely lacking in Wrangell, she said.
Prysunka also wanted to be sure space was made available for a playground in the area. Economic Development Director Carol Rushmore said that there could be space set aside for green space.
Assembly Member Anne Morrison asked if the new properties would go on sale all at once, or over time, and asked for how much they would sell. The selling price will be partially dependent on the development costs, Von Bargen said, and they will also have to be appraised. Those numbers will determine the minimum bid for the lots, she said. She added that her recommendation would be to sell the lots in phases.
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