Inside Alaska Business
Harvest Alaska
Harvest Alaska is acquiring the Kenai LNG Terminal, repurposing idled export assets to import liquified natural gas for the Southcentral energy market. According to a joint announcement with Chugach Electric Association and Marathon Petroleum Corporation, the parent company of the terminal’s current owner, the first LNG could be delivered next year, ahead of full-scale operations in 2028. The Kenai LNG terminal was one of the first in the United States when it opened in 1969. Exports continued until 2015, when Cook Inlet gas supplies struggled to meet local demand. Harvest Alaska, an affiliate of Hilcorp, operates pipelines in Cook Inlet and the North Slope, including a 49 percent ownership stake in the Trans Alaska Pipeline System and Alyeska Pipeline Service Company acquired from bp in 2020.
Aleut
Business lines acquired from Richards Distributing, Inc. (RDI) form the core of a new subsidiary of Aleut regional corporation. Renewable Energy Systems, Arctic Home Living, and Alaska EcoWater Systems are being folded into Aleut Energy, with Nick Goodman as president. RDI’s senior leadership, including Jeremy Lane and Eddie Davidson, remain in key roles during the transition. RDI, founded by Rob and Karlene Richards, has retail locations in Anchorage, Fairbanks, and the Matanuska-Susitna Borough providing spas, hot tubs, water treatment, and renewable energy systems. “RDI’s strengths in renewable energy and retail, combined with their exceptional reputation and expertise, will allow us to expand our impact across Alaska while continuing to drive value for our shareholders,” says Aleut CEO and President Skoey Vergen.
Global Credit Union
A new Financial Center is now open across the street from Global Credit Union’s longtime Juneau branch in the Fred Meyer store. The 10,400-square-foot facility on Honsinger Drive near Juneau International Airport is designed as a one-stop shop for Juneau’s financial needs, including offices for Global Credit Union Insurance Brokers and Global Credit Union Home Loans. The building features an open-concept layout with a walk-up ATM, a drive-up ATM lane, and two drive-up teller lanes.
Credit Union 1
In 1916, Skagway became the first headquarters of National Bank of Alaska, now part of Wells Fargo, which remains the only bank in the Garden City of Alaska. Answering the Skagway Borough Assembly’s call for more local financial services, Credit Union (CU1) is opening a new branch in Skagway this month at 306 B 3rd Avenue. The branch is CU1’s fifteenth location, and two more are coming soon to Kotzebue and Wasilla. “With two other branches opening this year, Skagway wasn’t on our radar for expansion,” says CU1 President and CEO Mark Burgess, “but the assembly’s request got our attention.”
Spruce Root
The US Small Business Administration (SBA) certified Spruce Root, the community development financial institution for Southeast, as a microlender. Microloans have been available in Alaska since 2022, when Business Impact NW, a Washington-based nonprofit with an Anchorage office, received SBA approval. Spruce Root, founded in 2012 with seed money from Sealaska regional corporation, is the first Alaska-based institution to earn the designation, enabling loans up to $50,000 to entrepreneurs who may have difficulty obtaining financing from traditional banks.
Native Village of Eklutna
After a soft opening earlier in the winter, the closest thing to a casino in the Municipality of Anchorage opened to the public February 3 in a temporary location. Chin’an Gaming Hall offers electronic gaming, like bingo or pull tabs, but not card or table games. Native Village of Eklunta plans to open a bigger facility next year with room for 700 games and two restaurants. The US Bureau of Indian Affairs estimated more than $67 million of new economic activity per year, with revenue paying for housing and healthcare initiatives, employment opportunities, scholarships, and cultural enhancement. However, the State of Alaska filed a lawsuit disputing the designation of the property as an Alaska Native Allotment eligible for gaming.
Alaska Growth Capital
The Alaska Marketplace business plan competition selected nine winners from seventy-six applicants across three regions. The flagship North Slope Marketplace was open to Arctic Slope Regional Corporation shareholders, and winners include Elizabeth Ahkivgak of Anchorage for her Sovereign Speech language translation start-up; Diane Stone of Anchorage for her Qasiaq Atikluks custom jacket designs; and Kelly Engel of Palmer for Happy Camper RV Services. In the Bristol Bay Native Corporation region, the winners are Beth Hill of Port Alsworth for Tulchina Adventures, offering cabins at Lake Clark; Kayla Robson of Talkeetna for Sunshine Auto Parts; and Nels Ure of Naknek for Bristol Bay Media, a full-service creative agency. Winners in the Aleut corporation region are Kjell Mack and Fanny Jo Newton, starting up the King Cove General convenience store; Arlene Wilson, starting up Momma Bear’s Daycare in King Cove; and Madison Thompson from Sand Point for her Small Craft Café. Alaska Growth Capital is facilitating awards of up to $25,000 to boost the businesses.
Joann Fabrics
The stitches ripped out slowly: at first, Ohio-based Joann Fabrics said 500 of its 800 stores nationwide would close in the wake of a January bankruptcy filing. In Alaska, that would’ve closed the Anchorage and Juneau locations, sparing the Wasilla, Soldotna, and Fairbanks stores (plus online shopping). Days later, asset disposition firm GA Group won an auction for the company and announced the closure of all stores everywhere. Final shutdown is expected by the end of May.