The Eaglecrest Ski Area gondola will likely open a year later than expected. That’s according to a proposed updated agreement between the city and Goldbelt, Inc., Juneau’s urban Alaska Native corporation.
It’s been more than a year since Goldbelt offered to invest in the gondola project for the city-owned ski area. The Juneau Assembly approved a revenue sharing agreement in January, but the negotiation process continued for several more months.
“We thought we were there, but we weren’t,” City Manager Rorie Watt said at an Assembly committee meeting Monday. “We’re coming at it, from the CBJ side, a government perspective — and the Goldbelt side, a business perspective.”
Watt outlined the updated agreement, which still needs final approval from the Assembly.
Some key terms remain the same: Goldbelt will invest $10 million in the project and in exchange, get 10 to 25% of summer revenue for 25 years. If Goldbelt doesn’t get at least $20 million back in revenue in that time, the agreement would extend.
One change is the deadline for opening the gondola. The new agreement pushes it back a year, setting it at May 31, 2028. If it doesn’t open by then, Goldbelt can back out.
“It’s taken a while, and we’ve lost most of this construction season,” Watt said.
Another is the timing of the fund disbursement. According to the updated agreement, Goldbelt would pay the city in one lump sum by July 3, 2023, rather than in multiple payments.
“That’s really good for us,” Watt told the committee. “We don’t have to worry about things changing. Maybe the way the world looks in a year to the Goldbelt board is different. So this is a really good thing for CBJ.”
The new agreement would require the city to pay Goldbelt additional interest if the city backs out. Watt said that change in Goldbelt’s favor was worth getting the $10 million up front.
“I think the probability that we would terminate is really low,” he said.
Goldbelt owns and operates the Mount Roberts tram in downtown Juneau. President and CEO McHugh Pierre said in an interview that the gondola is an opportunity to expand tourism on Douglas Island.
“When we evaluate the future of tourism in the community, we know that there needs to be options to spread people out so the impacts are manageable,” he said. “We think that Eaglecrest, as an already developed area, is ripe for sustainable additions.”
Pierre said he hopes increased activity at Eaglecrest will lead to more development on nearby Goldbelt-owned land.
Members of the public can comment on the proposed new agreement at the next Assembly meeting on May 8.
