By Associated Press - Thursday, February 6, 2020

ANCHORAGE, Alaska (AP) - A hotel chain plans to begin construction in May of a $60 million, aviation-themed hotel in downtown Anchorage, officials said.

The 13-story building will be the first major hotel construction in the city since the Anchorage Marriott Downtown was built in 1998, The Anchorage Daily News reported Tuesday.

The project by national chain Hotel Indigo is expected to be completed in mid- to late-2021.

The building site is a short walk from the Alaska Center for the Performing Arts and the Denaina Civic and Convention Center.

Rooms will be pre-built in China and shipped by barge to Anchorage to speed up construction, project officials said.

The pre-constructed rooms will include furniture, art, plumbing, and electrical and heating features, said Monica Sullivan, one of the building’s designers.

The building will also feature 32 one- and two-bedroom apartments, which will be constructed in China.

The building’s plans also include a ground-floor restaurant and meeting space, officials said.

The hope is that the hotel will create a “domino effect” spurring other property improvements in the area, said Andrew Halcro, director of the Anchorage Community Development Authority, the city agency that owns the block.

“The development will add new property taxes to the tax rolls,” Halcro said. “It will provide a hotel product that doesn’t exist in the market. And we believe it will revitalize that entire city block.”

Anchorage Mayor Ethan Berkowitz hopes more people living in downtown Anchorage will help make the area “a safer, more vibrant place.”

“This is part of the momentum we’ve had in terms of adding residential units to downtown and making sure there’s more economic vitality there,” Berkowitz said.

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