The Midtown District Plan is an important step-down plan that will bridge the gap between the vision and goals set forth in Anchorage 2020 and the implementation elements necessary to make that vision a reality. As a major employment and shopping district located in the center of the Anchorage Bowl, Midtown is a critical area for making the Comprehensive Plan a success.

The area has a diverse mix of land uses that map to the historic expansion of Anchorage.  Pockets of residential and small retail businesses along Fireweed Lane remain from a time when that was the southern extent of Anchorage.  Large office buildings, strip malls, and major shopping centers characterize an auto-oriented southward expansion of the city that occurred from the 1970s through the early 1980s. During this time, Midtown underwent rapid development and became a major shopping area and the primary financial district in the city. As other professional services located there, Midtown began to supplant downtown as the primary office center in Anchorage.  Surprisingly, behind the commercial areas which front most of the arterial streets, the midtown district contains a large supply of residential land uses; many of which are high density.

The eclectic mix of commercial land uses (office buildings, auto-oriented strip malls, shopping centers, and fast food establishments) mixed with older residential areas, mobile home parks, and a large supply of surface parking create challenges and opportunities for a successful Midtown District Plan.  The plan must deal with differences between some of the most expensive real estate in Anchorage and some of the poorest residents; and between an auto-oriented landscape and a vision that calls for a walkable, transit-friendly employment center with a mix of high-density employment and conveniently located housing.

What will the plan accomplish?

The project is intended to facilitate the transition of rapidly growing business district into a compact, mixed use employment center.  Toward that end, the project will:

•    Create a good base of existing condition information in the form of a “District Profile”

•    Be based on a market demand study that will examine market forces and forecast future growth

•    Use a design charette process to examine issues and help establish a vision for the district

•    Create a vision, goals, and objectives to guide Midtown’s future development

•    Use PlanBuilder software to examine potential future scenarios

•    Create a new land use map and proposed zoning and design standards

•    Develop a transportation improvement plan designed to support the adopted land use plan

•    Examine parking supply and demand issues and make recommendations for parking management

•    Examine urban design standards and make recommendations for new and unifying standards that support the plan’s vision.

•    Develop a public improvement plan and associated financial framework that will encourage and support new Midtown development.