Inside Alaska Business
FashionPact
After a devastating roof collapse last winter, FashionPact is returning to full strength. The Anchorage secondhand store, in business since 2021, opened a new location in October at 68th Avenue and Lake Otis Parkway. It replaces the flagship location near Downtown, at the junction of the Seward and Glenn Highways, where the roof caved in, ruining inventory stored there for an expansion shop in South Anchorage. That small shop became a lifeboat until owner Brittani Clancey could find new retail space. FashionPact resells donated clothing and shares 40 percent of sales with “allies,” dozens of local nonprofits chosen by donors and customers.
Three Bears Alaska
Next in the expansion plans for Three Bears Alaska are a couple of gas station convenience stores in North Pole. The Wasilla-based grocery chain has its eye on two Sourdough Fuel locations, pending transfer of a liquor license for the Badger Road station. The other gas station is at the North Pole Plaza shopping center, at the intersection of Santa Claus Lane and St. Nicholas Drive. Three Bears is also discussing acquisitions in Delta Junction and Unalaska, and the company is planning another convenience store in the former Spenard Builders Supply location in Eagle River, next to Fred Meyer.
Golden Valley Electric Association
The electric utility for Fairbanks and the Interior helped Westinghouse Electric Co. apply for a US Department of Energy program that could lead to an innovative thermal storage facility. Slabs of insulated concrete would store surplus electricity as heat, enough to power 2,000 homes for a month when released through a heat pump. Westinghouse would site the facility next to the Golden Valley Electric Association (GVEA) coal-fired power plant in Healy, although GVEA has not committed to using it. The project was selected as one of nine nationwide that could qualify for a $50 million federal grant. Westinghouse could build the storage unit by 2028.
Glacier Oil & Gas
A new unit has been formed on the eastern North Slope. The Alaska Division of Oil and Gas approved the creation of the Grey Owl unit, covering 14,667 acres operated by Balcony Natural Resources, a subsidiary of Glacier Oil & Gas. Another subsidiary, Savant Alaska, operates the Badami unit about 20 miles to the northeast. The Grey Owl acreage had been controlled by JPD Family Holdings, which traded its state leases in exchange for 10 percent ownership of Glacier Oil & Gas. The unit application comes with a five-year exploration plan.
Alaska Premier Auctions & Appraisals
One of the top seven small businesses in the country, in the eyes of the US Chamber of Commerce, is in Anchorage. Alaska Premier Auctions & Appraisals was a finalist for the honor of “America’s Top Small Business,” narrowed from a field of more than 15,000 applicants nationwide. Led by founder and principal auctioneer Dan Newman, the company offers online and live estate sales, business liquidation, benefit auctions, and personal property appraisals. “We’re honored to have been voted the US Chamber’s Top Small Business in our Northwest region and incredibly proud of our team for their daily contributions and dedication towards taking care of our customers, growing our company, and representing Alaska,” says Newman. The winner of the $25,000 grand prize, announced October 19, was Elderly Instruments, a family-owned music store in Lansing, Michigan.
Harvest Alaska
Construction is underway on a liquified natural gas (LNG) plant on the North Slope. Harvest Alaska, the mid-stream affiliate of Hilcorp, is building the facility. When it is complete by the end of 2024, Harvest Alaska will supply LNG to the Interior Gas Utility, which plans to truck gas purchased from Hilcorp to Fairbanks. North Slope LNG is meant to replace Cook Inlet gas that the utility liquifies at its own facility at Point MacKenzie. After erecting buildings, winter construction involves connecting to the fuel gas pipeline. Process modules are scheduled to be trucked north in the spring.
Alaska Chamber
The Alaska Chamber presented its Premier Business Awards to an outstanding Alaskan, two companies, and a fellow chamber of commerce. The William A. Egan Outstanding Alaskan of the Year went to Bob Berto of Ketchikan for his involvement with Alaska Marine Pilots, the International Longshore and Warehouse Union, and other tourism, finance, and healthcare efforts. The Bill Bivin Small Business of the Year Award (for an Alaska company with fewer than 100 employees) went to Northern Alaska Tour Company of Fairbanks. The Rita Sholton Large Business of the Year award was given to the Alaska Railroad Corporation. And the Cordova Chamber of Commerce wins Local Chamber of the Year for 2023.