Legislators are again looking at purchasing the old Unocal building in downtown Anchorage to provide office space for themselves and their staff.
The Legislative Council called for an appraisal and an engineer's report this week after a subcommittee recommended the state purchase the building for up to $6.9 million.
This is the latest of several attempts legislators have made in recent years to secure new office space for themselves in Anchorage. Legislators have long complained about the West Fourth Avenue space they currently lease downtown, saying it's too small and lacks adequate parking.
Now they are eyeing the old Unocal building on West Ninth Avenue along the Delaney Park Strip. The six-story building has been a low-rise landmark in Anchorage since 1970. Chevron Corp. was the owner until last year when the company put it up for sale after moving operations to Midtown Anchorage.
The Legislature last year put in a $1.5 million bid to buy the same building, intending to gut the structure for what was an estimated $16 million cost and put in new offices. But Chevron turned down the bid and sold the 55,000-square-foot building to somebody else.
Now it's for sale again. Property records show the building is currently owned by a limited liability corporation led by Janice Ellsworth, whose husband John Ellsworth is a well known Anchorage businessman and donor to political campaigns.
The Legislative Council, a bipartisan group of lawmakers that does the Legislature's business in between sessions, put a notice this summer for anyone with interest in selling office space to the Legislature to submit the details.
Council chairwoman Linda Menard, R-Wasilla, has been leading the effort with a subcommittee that's been holding closed meetings to discuss it.
The current assessed value of the old Unocal building for property tax purposes is $1.8 million. Some work appears to be happening on the building, and legislators talked about asbestos removal as being part of the purchase deal.
But it's not clear the scope of improvements the Legislature is asking for as part of the deal since the Legislative Council is keeping the details confidential, saying the closed meetings are needed to ensure the state gets the best financial outcome. Menard's office did not return repeated messages from the Daily News on Thursday asking for information on the possible purchase, including details about who owns the building.
Sen. Menard emerged from one of those closed "executive session" meetings this week to say the Anchorage office space subcommittee was recommending the purchase of the old Unocal building and its parking lot.
Vice Chairman Bob Herron, D-Bethel, made a motion "for discussion" that the Legislative Council give authority to Legislative Affairs Agency Executive Director Pam Varni to negotiate and purchase the building for a maximum of $6.9 million.
Rep. Craig Johnson objected. Johnson said he was uncomfortable with setting a potential price of $6.9 million without an appraisal.
"I'm a little uncomfortable with the Legislature buying a building anyway. If we overpay for it I'm going to get really, really uncomfortable. I think that we will face political ramifications in any case and the best thing we can do is be able to justify that it is a value to the state, that it is a good long-term investment," the Anchorage Republican said.
Sitka Republican Sen. Bert Stedman agreed and said he was uncomfortable with how fast the whole process was moving.
"I'm not even sure at the end I'll be comfortable with purchasing this particular building because of the sheer size and scope of it," said Stedman, co-chairman of the Senate Finance Committee.
The building's owners wanted an answer by Sept. 1. But Stedman and others said they'll just have to wait until an appraisal and engineer's report.
Menard said the legislators then need to be prepared for the possibility the building owners will go ahead and sell it to someone else.
"It would be a darn shame," she said.
Herron said the Legislature wants to buy the building, in theory, but needs more information. Other representatives said no one would buy a building without an appraisal and engineer's report and that the Sept. 1 deadline is unrealistic.
The Legislative Council then unanimously decided to tell the building owners that they need more time and aren't ready to talk price.
The building, which has had absestos issues, is currently surrounded by a fence and off limits to the public while work is being done on it.
Reach Sean Cockerham at scockerham@adn.com or 257-4344.
By SEAN COCKERHAM
scockerham@adn.com