T he clatter of equipment is muted by the walls of the Stonington Gallery, but not deadened entirely. And my mind is only peripherally dealing with such subjects anyway - I'll get a better chance to see the construction crew at work later. Right now, the striking art on the walls occupies a great deal of my attention. And Don Decker, I think, has the rest.Decker is a noted visual artist in Anchorage, and has been the owner of the Stonington Gallery for quite some time. For years, Stonington has enjoyed a privileged position next to ACVB's log cabin on a month-to-month lease, for $1 per square foot. Their space is considered one of the best locations in downtown for drawing the tourist crowd, most of whom make it to the log cabin during their stay. Now Decker has to move out by the 15th.
"The city wants to renovate this building. And it does need work - it's falling apart," says Decker, "But our argument was, if there were businesses in here paying rent, it would be just as effective as ACVB paying for it." Furthermore, Decker says he was willing to move, but felt he needed more time to organize his affairs and find a new building. Despite active lobbying support from the Downtown Business Association and the support of four assembly members (Meyer, Abney, Begich and Wohlforth), the assembly voted 7-4 in favor of ACVB moving in as soon as possible.
ACVB has agreed to spend $1.7 million to renovate the building. In exchange, they get to rent the space cheap - $1 per year for 15 years. Though that may change, Bill Elander, ACVB director, says half-joking, "It'll certainly be no more than ten times that much." Among other problems, the Old City Hall has a leaking roof and contains asbestos which needs to be removed.
Elander is confident ACVB will not only be comfortable in their new location, but will also serve as a beneficial tenant. He said he wasn't actively seeking a new office, but members of the assembly and municipality approached him with the plan. "I had pressure from city leaders and Historic Properties to save the building," says Elander," and when someone asks you to do something, and you put the paper together and it works..."
- "...I hope they make lemonade out of those lemons I gave them, and I hope it's shocking."
The new space will be a bit smaller than ACVB's current 1600 A St. location, says Elander, "If you take the amount of space I pay for, 7500-7800 square feet, and compare it to City Hall's 14,000, it looks good. But then you think about the 1,250 square feet for the Visitor Information Center, 1,100 square feet of entryway to preserve, and then all the space taken up by restrooms, hallways and stairwells, the net footage is actually less." However, Elander is confident the new location will benefit the organization. No longer will ACVB management and visitor contact center be separated. Finally the visitor's bureau can be a single entity not only in name, but also in location.
Elander has found the need to play with some creative methods of using the space in Old City Hall, and says the only way he can fit his staff into the building is to move the communications/PR department to the basement. Part of his vision is to turn this basement into a decoration playground. "They're highly creative people, and I told them to decorate creatively," he says, "Hopefully, they'll be outrageous in their decoration. I hope they make lemonade out of those lemons I gave them, and I hope it's shocking."
You may remember when this first became a major public issue. Assembly hearings were called, exaggerations and hyperbole were thrown around like confetti on Cinco de Mayo, and, ultimately, Decker lost his fight to keep the place a while longer. As one of the assembly members who supported a compromise plan to give Stonington two more seasons in the building, Mark Begich says, "It could have worked out, and I thought moving them on such short notice wouldn't be healthy. Stonington is a unique element to the visitor community."
Begich expressed some concern about the amount of square footage that will be accessible to the public after ACVB moves into the building. Currently, most of the building is publicly accessible. After ACVB moves in, visitors will have the opportunity to see only one pamphlet-filled room (1,250 sq. ft.), and the old entrance (1,100 sq. ft.) "Under the new occupants," he says, "visitors can't enjoy the full historic value of the building."
Assembly member Cheryl Clemenson takes a tough-love approach to the gallery's situation. While she appreciates the hardship they face, she also makes clear that, "[Decker] knew the lease was month-to-month, and that the city was looking for a long-term tenant. Other people didn't rent there for that very reason, and Don knew all of that." Furthermore, she says, "I know a number of people in town made them offers [on space], and some of them were very good."
That's true, says Decker, but why lose a good tenant? "One of the arguments we heard against us was they we're subsidized by the city. The assembly acted like we were some sort of liberal arts school looking for a handout," he says, "We looked at 15 other spaces and they all charged comparable rent, especially considering our building was in such poor condition."
Decker's has been a trying struggle. A battle against the government lost, a costly blow to his business imminent, and an uncertain future portend instability and hard work on the horizon. But Decker has been around for a while, and is clearly a man accustomed to rolling with the punches. The plan right now is to move into a temporary space for winter, downstairs from Side St. Espresso. The space is considerably smaller than the current space, and Decker fears it will cost him quite a bit of business. But at least he'll be operating.
- Mark Begich says, "It could have worked out, and I thought moving them on such short notice wouldn't be healthy. Stonington is a unique element to the visitor community."
The second move, slated for April 1st, won't help Stonington keep customers, but will at least offer the space they need. "Moving is expensive, and we're going to have to move twice," he says, "It's hard for customers to follow you - it could be easier for them to just go someplace else." Stonington also has a lot of tourists who come to the gallery every year, and they'll certainly have a harder time finding the gallery. But the Rondy Palace is a pretty high-profile location, and with its current rental of only 25 cents per square foot, it's sure to be affordable, even when rents are renegotiated after a spring renovation.
Decker is concerned, though, that the renegotiation could force the Imaginarium, one of the current tenants, to leave and says he doesn't want that to happen. "One thing I'm concerned about - we want the Imaginarium to stay," he says, "We certainly don't want to be a thorn in their side during [the rent renegotiation] process or after. We think it's much better if they stay there, and we know what it's like to get kicked out of your space."
When all is said and done, Decker stoically accepts his fate, and is happy for the support he gets from his customers. "Not a day goes by without four or five people coming in to express their regrets about all this. So we've won public opinion, whatever that does for us."
Through the back door of the current Stonington is the secret entrance to the main lobby of Old City Hall. Here, in this historic room which is only enhanced by the presence of Kenai Fjords Tours, the ladders are clearly visible, the roofers hard at work. Kenai Fjords is moving into the Hilton, according to front desk-person Barbara Kagerer. She says Kenai Fjords doesn't mind moving because the new space is, "still within that critical one block radius of the log cabin. Besides, we've been growing out of this office for a while now."
The Press wishes the best of luck to all those who got caught up in the City Hall shuffle. Don't forget to check out this magnificent historical building before they close most of it to the public forever.
Stonington's last show at their Old City Hall location will be Spence Guerin - recent works. A former Alaskan artist, Guerin returned to re-explore the Alaskan landscape and will be showing the renderings from his current vacation. Also through the 10th, you can see work by Jane Mayhook, Lowell Zercher, and the 21st Annual Watercolor Society Exhibition.
The Gallery will also be offering discounts on its inventory as part of a moving sale Sept. 5 through 13. After Sept. 15th, you'll find them below Side St. Espresso (428 G St.) They'll move to a bigger space in the same building (Rondy Palace, where the Imaginarium is) on April 1st.