A few years ago, Gunakadeit Park was a concrete square nestled between the former Gastineau Apartments and the stairway to Gastineau Avenue.
Today, the former pocket park is a gravel lot along South Franklin Street that sometimes hosts construction equipment.
But a proposal under consideration by the Juneau Assembly would turn it into a food court.
The applicant is David McCasland. He owns Deckhand Dave’s, a food truck that serves fish tacos along the waterfront.
“I’ve done my research on food truck parks and have been to a few of them and they’re pretty awesome and they’re pretty cool for the community,” McCasland said Wednesday.
He’s so serious about the plan that he put down $500 for the application to buy the lot.
McCasland and the other vendors who use the Archipelago Lot are looking for a new location since the future of their space is in flux as the city negotiates a deal with the land owner, Morris Communications.
Vendors still don’t know if they’ll be able to open there next summer.
McCasland said he thought his proposal would solve two problems.
“I was trying to find a spot for everybody and honestly that spot’s an eyesore in downtown Juneau and it would be a really, really good spot for that,” McCasland said.
At a meeting Monday, the Assembly Lands Committee reviewed McCasland’s application.
City Lands and Resources Manager Greg Chaney said the committee was interested in the concept and the potential to turn an abandoned lot into something useful.
But he said they’re hesitant to commit to selling the lot in light of current projects already underway in the surrounding area.
“One is the comprehensive plan for the park system that’s underway right now and then we also have a Downtown Blueprint which is being created by the Community Development Department,” Chaney said. “Both of those efforts will have significant impact on Gunakadeit Park, so it seems a little premature to dispose of the property right now.”
Another development is the city’s settlement with the owners of the former Gastineau Apartments this summer. The city demolished the building in 2016 after it fell into disrepair. It may make sense to combine both lots — where the apartments stood and the former park — to make selling them easier.
In light of all of this, the Committee recommended rejecting the proposal and returning McCasland’s $500 application fee.
But according to City Manager Rorie Watt, the Assembly may still decide to let McCasland lease the space for seasonal use, similar to his current arrangement on the Archipelago Lot.
“I would say there’s a high likelihood that a short term lease could be available,” Watt said.
In the meantime, McCasland said he and other vendors in the Archipelago Lot are in limbo.
He said he plans to keep working with the city on his proposal, but if it doesn’t pan out and he doesn’t find another place downtown, he won’t open next year.
“There’s not really any other spots, that’s the thing,” he said.
The Assembly will consider the issue at their next meeting on Nov. 5.
