Juneau is known throughout Alaska, across the nation and around the world as an especially vibrant place for artistic and cultural activity. Having strong, robustly supported, effective arts policies and programs, and providing appropriate infrastructure for the artistic and cultural activities, is essential to a healthy, thriving community. Arts and culture are elements of life without which we can’t fully live.<\/p>\n
Juneau residents have heard a lot about the decades of official City and Borough of Juneau planning documents (comprehensive plans, economic development plans, waterfront plans) which envision expanding Centennial Hall to add arts and culture space and\/or building some sort of performing\/visual arts complex on the site of the old Juneau National Guard Armory. These concepts have been floated by and embraced by the Assembly since the early 1980s.<\/p>\n
[Presentation shares methods behind recent New JACC study]<\/a><\/ins><\/p>\n After over 30 years of conceptual consideration, a group was formed to focus the community’s attention on how to make the New Juneau Arts & Culture Center finally happen. The Partnership, Inc., is a nonprofit with the specific mission to create and implement the fundraising plan to make the New JACC a reality. At the outset, this required evaluating community needs, business models, user preferences and the economic situation to scope out a project that would both succeed as a business and serve the greatest level of community need.<\/p>\n In 2015, a study about how the New JACC would perform financially was done by the McDowell Group, evaluating the documented needs of the community for a space to augment or replace the old Juneau National Guard Armory, which started transforming into the existing JACC in 2007. The first study considered remodeling the old JACC, which was ultimately determined to be impracticable. An updated version of the McDowell study in 2016 acknowledged the need to remove and replace the old facility, and incorporated current elements of the design and operational plans and realistic cost estimates.<\/p>\n As the New JACC project has continued to evolve, its economic benefits and the market demand it is poised to meet have become increasingly clear. The Partnership re-engaged the McDowell Group in 2018 to update the Financial Feasibility Study to inform CBJ and all of its residents, as well as visitors to and friends of the capital city, of the continuing beneficial potential for the New JACC.<\/p>\n