Last week the temperatures fell and the sky cleared, leaving a black night sky and winter in Alaska started to feel like winter in Alaska.
It's the perfect time to take a leisurely stroll Downtown, in your warmest gear, and enjoy the ice sculptures in Town Square Park.
For me, it's wonderful to see the amazing pieces the artists can create with a slab of ice and a chainsaw. The walk through the park and the ice sculptures lit up in different colors really takes to you a different place for a while. It's a small glimpse of what Downtown Anchorage should be.
For the last six years, Anchorage has had a leadership problem in City Hall. Don't get me wrong, I once believed in Mayor Dan Sullivan. I waved signs for him. There's even still a rectangular "Sullivan for Mayor" campaign button in my collection and a yard sign in my laundry room. However, he didn't hold true to his promise. He became a mayor who played political games rather than taking care of the city I love so much.
Thankfully, that era is over and the era of community involvement with Mayor Ethan Berkowitz has begun. There is no "we can't do that" attitude in the Berkowitz administration. From the top down, this administration approaches every new initiative from the perspective of "how could we accomplish this." When I speak to members of this administration, it's a much more positive and appreciative group of people than I've ever spoken to in the past.
Downtown is a particularly exciting area for this administration. With Andrew Halcro heading up the Anchorage Community Development Authority, many new ideas have been announced for improving Downtown, the biggest of which is a revamped transit center with new retail outlets.
Other ideas that have been floated are putting outlets in Town Square Park to encourage people -- particularly millennials -- to stay longer, which will discourage the bad element from hanging out in the park, in turn bringing more young people to the park and encouraging more people to shop at Downtown businesses and eat at Downtown restaurants.
The Downtown revitalization is underway and it could not come at a better time. Along with that, Berkowitz has put only one item on his legislative wish list -- the remaining money for the port revitalization project. This project has been mismanaged and poorly handled by mayors and port directors in the past. Hopefully this administration will be able to right the wrongs of the past.
Downtown isn't the only part of Anchorage, and it isn't the only part of Anchorage this administration is focusing on. Plans to revitalize my former stomping grounds, Mountain View, have done wonders to reshape the landscape. The building of Bass Pro Shops has helped breathe new life into Glenn Square, which was starting to creep toward death just before the sporting goods store's grand opening.
The new housing along Mountain View Drive has also started to improve the landscape. Mountain View has a long way to go, but things are definitely looking up.
If the same kind of redevelopment can happen in Fairview, it will attract new business and new development in that area as well.
Another development that will bode well for the shaping of Anchorage's future is changing the building code in certain areas, such as Downtown and South Addition to allow for taller residential buildings and mixed-use buildings, which would allow developers to build retail outlets below residential units. These types of buildings would attract younger professionals who enjoy living in these types of environments.
The renaissance has arrived. The sky has cleared, the sun is shining and the future of Anchorage is bright. This is the Anchorage we deserve -- an Anchorage that is friendly to everybody, a welcoming city of lights and flowers where we are all proud to live.
The naysayers can say "nay" all they want. The power is in the hands of those who desire change and the changes are underway. There are always some who will fear change. However, we have to move forward and move Anchorage into the next era as a city we love.
Mike Dingman is a fifth-generation Alaskan born and raised in Anchorage. He is a former University of Alaska Anchorage student body president and has worked, studied and volunteered in Alaska politics since the late '90s. Email him at michaeldingman@gmail.com.
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