Due to the current increase in Covid-19 cases in the state of Alaska, Girdwood Alliance and Alyeska Resort agree that it is in the best interest of the community to cancel the Mountain Music Festival. This decision was not easily made and was done so with the health and safety of festival attendees, Alyeska staff and Girdwood Alliance volunteers in mind, as well as for the health care workers and health care infrastructure system in Alaska. We realize that some people have purchased event tickets in advance; we’ve outlined several options for these tickets below.
Tickets are fully refundable.
VIP Admission into the next scheduled Mountain Music Festival. Closest to the bands and priority download on tram.
Tickets are valid on the aerial tramway for the remainder of the summer/fall season, concluding on October 11, 2021.
Each ticket valid for one (1) pre-public tram run during the 21/22 ski season. 10:15 AM tram up. Advance sign up required.
Individuals who purchased tickets in advance were sent an email on 8/22/2021 to select their preferred option. If you purchased and did not receive an email, please fill out the “Contact Us” form on this website.
We sincerely thank everyone for their contribution to Girdwood Alliance and look forward to hosting events again soon.
We are excited to once again hold Mountain Music Festival, a Girdwood Alliance Fundraiser!
Last time was described as “the event of the summer.” We’ve missed you and are ready to dance the afternoon away surrounded by the beauty of Alyeska mountain bowl. The mountain top will be permitted with room to spread out and enjoy the tunes! Sweet photo ops, so have your cameras and phones charged up!
Hikers welcome for a $10 donation at the gate or $25 for a family. Hike up Northface, as bikers will be on mountain until 6:00 PM. Hike down the road (anytime after 6:00 PM). Please leave dogs at home for the event. Enjoy watching mountain bikers take runs on Chair 6 from the view of the deck and mountain top from 4-6 PM.
Food: – Boretide Bar and Grill will be open with full bar, limited food menu between 6-8 PM.
On April 7, 2021, Heritage Land Bank published a “Request for Proposal” for development of up to 150 acres. Submissions were due by June 7, 2021. On June 29, the municipality of Anchorage published the below memo:
Development of a portion of HLB Parcels 6-011, 6-016 & 6-017.
The high scoring proposal was notified on June 29, 2021 and negotiation of a Development Agreement will begin in July. This process will take several months. No agreement or contract is established by the RFP process and evaluation results. Portions of the proposals, including many numeric details, concept plans, and financials have been redacted to ensure a reasonable process and appropriate expectations. The resulting development, if any, may not be exactly what has been proposed.
The Evaluation Committee was comprised of 9 individuals, including 7 MOA employees, 3 Girdwood residents, and an array of experts with knowledge relevant to this particular RFP.
The intent of the Request for Proposal (RFP) was to identify a partner to develop a portion of three parcels currently in the Heritage Land Bank inventory located in Girdwood Alaska, legally described as Tract I Alyeska Subdivision Prince Addition (Plat 87-131) (PID 075-311-04), Tract B Girdwood Elementary School Subdivision (Plat 85-38) (PID 075-031-32), and Tract 9A Section 9 T10N R2E (Plat 73-220) (PID 075-041-31) in a manner that is consistent with the goals of the 1995 Girdwood Area Plan and the 2006 Crow Creek Neighborhood Land Use Plan and which provides the highest and best use of the site.
Trails are an invaluable asset to Girdwood’s recreation. The Girdwood Trails plan has been undergoing a thorough review and the new draft plan is currently out for public comment.
Imagine Girdwood is working to re-write the Area Plan. The following focus groups will occur over the next month. Mark your calendars to attend these important meetings!
Implementation Focus Groups The Imagine! Girdwood Committee will be hosting a series of four virtual focus groups in April to begin brainstorming implementation concepts for the Girdwood Area Plan. You can join any focus group topics that interest you. Everyone is welcome and encouraged to participate!
TOPIC: Economic Development Wednesday, April 14th, 6 PM – 8 PM TOPIC: Recreation and Natural Space Thursday, April 15th, 6 PM – 8 PM TOPIC: Housing Wednesday, April 21st, 6 PM – 8 PM TOPIC: Transportation Thursday, April 22nd, 6 PM – 8 PM
Little Bears Playhouse, in collaboration with other Girdwood non-profits, is seeking grant funding for building a new childcare and learning center to provide services and learning opportunities to the Girdwood valley. The current childcare building was built by volunteers in the 1960s and is now a municipally owned building. It became the preschool in 1982. The building has structural issues that have been identified by municipal engineers and is becoming increasingly dangerous, especially for children . The very small capacity is a limiting factor for Girdwood’s success, as the workforce can not go to work without adequate childcare. The project seeks to substantially increase capacity to meet our community’s needs and support Girdwood’s workforce in an overdue and meaningful way.
Little Bears Playhouse, a recognized 501(c)3, has been providing for childcare needs in Girdwood, Alaska for nearly 40 years. Alyeska Resort has partnered with Little Bears Playhouse to help solve this very critical issue. Alyeska is a central economic hub, employs over 700 employees and is very much connected to our overall economic success.
Alyeska is essentially giving Little Bears land, for the purpose of constructing this new facility. They have offered a 99-year lease at $1/year in rent to Little Bears. Alyeska’s owners and managers understand the need their employees have for childcare, as well as the community at large. Land in Girdwood is notoriously expensive, and Little Bears Playhouse Board of Directors is overjoyed with this potential partnership and community commitment which Alyeska is exhibiting.
Community Impact:
Girdwood, Alaska has been hit particularly hard during the recent COVID 19 pandemic. Much of Girdwood is dependent on tourism and hospitality. The economy was essentially shut off, just prior to the height of peak tourism seasons. Girdwood saw restaurants shut down and nearly empty accommodations. It also saw the temporary closure of Girdwood’s only full-time licensed childcare facility, Little Bears Playhouse. Many of Girdwood’s residents are service workers and are desperately in need of dependable, consistent, and safe care for the children. During the height of the pandemic, there were examples of essential workers transporting their children into Anchorage for childcare. This really drove home the need for our community to be more self-sufficient and the understanding that commuting 4 hours a day to utilize childcare is a dead end.
Background in funding efforts:
In April 2020, nearly 80% of the Girdwood Valley Service Area voters supported self-taxation to fund a new childcare facility. The residents understood the dire condition of the current building, along with under met demand and capacity constraints. Unfortunately, with not enough Anchorage voters understanding the bond would be solely paid for by Girdwood homeowners, the bond did not pass at an area-wide level and ultimately failed. This proposed building would have only replaced the existing building with a minimal impact on increasing capacity. After 12 years of effort, Little Bears was back to square one in their goal of realizing a new building. Thankfully, Alyeska stepped forward with a new location and potential for increased capacity to better meet the community’s demand. With the new partnership in place, there was an effort to secure CARES Act funds for the new larger facility, but we did not receive funding. We are hopeful in seeking American Relief Plan Act funds to tackle this much needed and overdue issue.
Financial Request:
$6.1M – This budget covers all construction, site development, permitting, inspections, general contracting and project management. This number has been updated 4/2021 to reflect the most current site development estimate and increased costs of materials, especially lumber, due to impacts of COVID-19.
Status and Support:
Since April 2020, a childcare community needs assessment survey was conducted as well as planning, budgeting, and presentations. In July 2020, Girdwood Board of Supervisors wrote a letter of support of the childcare facility along with any grant funding which may be available. In September 2020, the conceptual project passed at Girdwood Land Use Committee by unanimous vote and ultimately received a letter of support from Girdwood Board of Supervisors for the proposed location. This project would be well received by the community of Girdwood and has demonstrated great support by going through the public meeting process. We are ready to proceed with this project without delay.
Project Specific Elements:
Design:
1.) Little Bears has been working with Z Architects on the design. The selected design can easily scale up by adding additional classrooms/wing to increase capacity. This building has already been constructed in the Mat-Su valley as a Waldorf Preschool and has undergone full engineering. Z Architects has walked the site with Little Bears board members and created a site plan. Alyeska dug test holes in 3 locations to verify bedrock locations. Little Bears paid for a topographic survey of the lot and Z Architects verified the suggested site plan will work in the proposed location. Utilities are located at the nearby “Pump House.” Water, sewer and electric all close by saves on development expenses. Road access off of a main road, minimizes neighborhood traffic impacts.
Conceptual Playground design:
Location:
Alyeska Prince Addition Tract C:
– Zoned GRST2 – Childcare Conditionally Permitted
– Memorandum of Understanding between Pomeroy/Alyeska Resort & Little Bears Playhouse. 99 year lease at $1/year.
Proposed Site Plan:
Proposed winner creek extension re-route:
The trail will become an integrated part of the childcare facility as an interpretive play trail. We will incorporate at least 4 learning and playing stations with Girdwood-centric themes such as 1.) Alaska Native Culture 2.) Mining history 3.) Glaciers 4.) Animals/Rain forest. Each station will include a feature to climb on/go inside/interact with along with educational signage geared toward children.
Conclusion:
For many working parents to return to work, a safe place for their children is the first critical element. We must solve this issue in Girdwood for its near-term safety reasons, equitable solutions for Girdwood’s workforce and long term success as a thriving community. Little Bears Playhouse seeks this new building to better implement their mission statement “to provide a safe, caring environment that promotes sound emotional, social, cognitive and physical development of children while strengthening and encouraging positive relationships among childcare professionals, families and our community.”
Girdwood Rotary hosted two “Candidates Nights” interviewing a panel of Anchorage Mayoral candidates and also Girdwood Board of Supervisors candidates. Elections are coming up in just over 1 month.
