Municipality will not purchase Spenard Americas Best Value Inn to become additional shelter

ANCHORAGE, Alaska (KTUU) - The Municipality of Anchorage will not move forward with the acquisition of the Americas Best Value Inn in Spenard as additional shelter and housing for the city.

During a due diligence process, the municipality identified “significant costly repairs and mandatory upgrades” in the inn on 4360 Spenard Road, including needed upgrades and repairs to elevators, stairwells, plumbing, electrical systems, the siding and roof. The acquisition was no longer feasible after finding that the maintenance that would need to be done was above the anticipated costs.

Due to the coronavirus pandemic, shelter space has been limited in the city. The Sullivan Arena has been set up as a mass shelter but it is not a permanent solution. Operating the arena as a shelter costs nearly $1 million per month, according to a release from municipality Acting Mayor Austin Quinn-Davidson. The cost is reimbursed by the Federal Emergency Management Agency.

Quinn-Davidson said in a prepared statement that the municipality will continue vetting properties for an additional shelter and will “proceed with acquisitions that make sense.”