The Juneau economy is growing!

We enjoy a healthy economy in our little city. Just a little background...

Juneau's population is approximately 30,000 - give or take several hundred. Juneau is right on the ocean. We are surrounded by 3,000 foot mountains so the community is built in little fringes along the coast and into several small and two medium sized valleys. This area was completely covered by ice several hundred years ago. We are now surrounded by Sitka Spruce, Hemlock and alder trees. We have less than 100 miles of two lane paved road and only about 10 miles of four lane road. You cannot drive to here. Everything comes in by boat or plane. Everything leaves by boat or plane!

According to the McDowell Group, a local statistics and consulting firm, we've lost several hundred people over the last five years. I'm not sure I agree with everything that was available in their report, but I'm not equipped to conduct my own study.

Here's what I do know:

Wal-Mart bought the old K-Mart building. It was kind of sad that we lost the retailer a few years back, but when they decided to pull out of Alaska, Juneau's store was a casualty. I've heard several people say that our K-Mart was the most profitable in the entire chain. The store fell into disrepair rather quickly and it took a while to negotiate the sale. It also took over a year for Wal-Mart to remodel and bring the building up to their standards but they are open now.

Fred Meyers did a huge addition and store remodel after K-Mart closed.

Home Depot recently opened a store here as well. It is located right by Costco. Their starting wage was better than some other retailers so those stores lost quite a few employees. Those stores will have to raise their starting wage to compete.

Juneau already has an unemployment rate that would be the envy of many communities. Our statewide average for August, 2007 was only 5.4%. Juneau's unemployment rate was 3.9%. That means there were only 728 people unemployed. (There are always a certain number of people who are unemployed on purpose.) This is where it starts to get interesting.

Wal-Mart and Home Depot spend a LOT of money researching an area before they spend millions building a new store. There is another group of retailers that just follow them and open stores wherever they do. These piggy-back stores include:

Office Depot - They just got approval from the CBJ Planning Commission.

PetCo - I've heard they are actively looking for space.

West Marine - They are on the way. They are actively seeking space.

Schucks Auto Supply - Actively seeking space

Target - I'm not holding my breath on this one. Probably 5 years out or more.

Kohl's - Possible, but also several years out.

Barnes & Noble - I could spend money there but I think this also is several years out.

Then of course are all the obligatory chain restaurants. Right now we only have McDonalds, Dominos, Subway and Papa Murphy's. Most people are betting on Olive Garden. I'd like a Denny's.

We are also building our second high school. Looking at all this construction I wonder who's going to build all these stores, especially with all the big road construction going on this year and next.

While this seems like a lot for such a small town, there are a few other things to remember.

Juneau is the state capital. Right now we do have a Governor who would like to move the capital. Our city has faced this threat pretty much since statehood in 1959. We have a lot of state government employees although Anchorage does have more. The federal government is quite active here as well - especially the US Forest Service - after all, we are surrounded by the Tongass National Forest. There are also several hundred City and Borough employees as well.

We are also a cruise ship port. We have as many as six full-sized cruise ships in our harbor at a time during the summer. Over one million visitors spend a day in our community. There are a multitude (too many) gift shops downtown, a tramway up to the top of Mt. Roberts, a zip-line, river rafting tours, horse-riding tours, glacier tours, whale watching tours, fishing charters, float plane charters, helicopter trips, salmon bakes and fish and chips places, fine dining, walking tours ... well you get the idea. These seasonal jobs keep our college kids employed all summer long. In addition, some people work multiple jobs over the summers to get a piece of this action.

Juneau is also a regional medical center. Remember that Seattle is 900 miles to the south and Anchorage is almost 600 miles away. There are a lot of little communities and remote areas in between. If someone is sick or injured, or just having a baby, the first place to come is Juneau. In some cases advanced care must be sought in Anchorage or Seattle, but we do have a dazzling array of specialists in this little town.

We have become a major regional shopping area. When villagers come in to go to the doctor or dentist, it only makes sense to do their shopping while they are here. In some communities there may be a convenience store with limited selection and high prices. Come to town and you can buy shoes, clothes, bedding, furniture and more. Oh yes, don't forget the produce! The area restaurants do a lot of business with these visitors as well since there might not be any restaurant where they came from. To someone who lives in a remote part of Alaska, Juneau's a big city.

Many of these trips are also combined with tournaments for various sports as well as other cultural and musical events. Middle school and high school teams compete and travel around Southeast all year around. In addition, there are other events for kids of all ages, such as the Gold Medal Basketball Tournament, Folk Festival, Home Show, Boat Show, Public Market in November, Music Fest, and more.

The Greens Creek Mine is a major employer and hopefully the Kensington mine will be fully permitted and in operation soon. They are still building and trying to deal with environmental protests. NOAA/National Marine Fisheries just built a world-class facility here. We have an accredited university with excellent Fisheries, Forestry, Mining and Education programs. The Coast Guard has a very big presence here as well.

So, rest easy. The Juneau economy is healthy and happy. Interest rates are still low. There are a lot of homes on the market, but that gives a buyer choices.

In one of my next posts I'll give my thoughts on what we can do to make housing more affordable for many of these people, and the ones that are sure to follow.