Owners of demolished 'public nuisance' apartments to pay $1.5M in settlement

The owners of an apartment building that caught fire twice and was demolished after it was declared a "public nuisance" have agreed to pay $1.5 million to Juneau.

The Juneau Empire reports the City and Borough of Juneau announced the settlement last week, ending its litigation to recoup the nearly $1.6 million spent on demolishing the building in January 2016.

Juneau filed a lawsuit in March 2016 against James and Kathleen Barrett, the former owners of the Gastineau Apartments.

According to court documents, the Barretts will pay the settlement in installments with the entire amount due before the end of December 2020. The first payment of $100,000 is due within 10 business days.

The case was scheduled to go to trial next week.