Anchorage's only REI store, located in the heart of Anchorage's Spenard neighborhood, reopened at 11:30 a.m. Thursday after closing abruptly late Tuesday night.
A sign posted on the storefront Wednesday said only that the closure was due to "a facility issue beyond our control."
REI spokesperson Megan Behrbaum said the company received a tip late Tuesday that possible asbestos abatement at an adjacent, nonpublic boiler room was being performed improperly.
"We were concerned the asbestos abatement was in violation of applicable law," Behrbaum said. "So we closed temporarily so we could verify the information because, always, our top priority is the safety of our employees and safety and well-being of our customers."
Behrbaum would not confirm which adjacent property might have been causing the issue. REI sits at the east end of a Midtown shopping center, with other storefronts next to and behind it. Calls to the building's management companies -- Mush Inn Corp. and Yoo Jin Managment, Co., Ltd. -- went unreturned Thursday.
Behrbaum said once the company became aware of the potential problem, REI immediately hired an independent expert in asbestos abatement. Behrbaum said that an environmental test of the Anchorage store showed no danger to customers or staff, and the decision was made to reopen the store.
Note: An earlier edit of this article incorrectly stated that the asbestos abatement was taking place in an adjacent storefront.