Discussions about revitalizing the area have gone on for nearly two decades. Now, officials from the port, the Alaska Railroad Corp. and the Municipality of Anchorage - the three major stakeholders in the area - have joined forces to kick-start work on dust-ridden plans to revitalize the historic Ship Creek area.

"We've all agreed that we have studied it to death and talked it to death, now it's time to start doing things and start planning," Sheffield said. "We've got some money already to start things and we'll get more as we need it."

"Anchorage needs to see that the city doesn't plan and put it on a shelf," said Pat Gamble, president of the Alaska Railroad Corp.

Plans are to make Ship Creek more attractive and more public-friendly. Improvement projects are already underway or in the planning stages for the railroad and the port. Other plans are to add restaurants, hotels, apartments, parks, boardwalks and flowerbeds to entice locals and tourists to spend time in the area.

The new Ship Creek will tie into the city's plans for an E Street Corridor, a refined Town Center, the expanded museum and a proposed new convention center, as well as all the current shopping and businesses already in downtown.

Though it's still early, the plans and projects could cost at least $150 million in public and private money, Sheffield said. That doesn't include several million dollars the port and the railroad plan to invest in their own projects.

"The timing is right for Ship Creek," said Mary Jane Michael, executive director for the city's Office of Economic and Community Development. "We want it to be the city's waterfront, a vibrant part of the downtown community."

From tent city to warehouse town

The Municipality of Anchorage, the port and the Alaska Railroad were all born in the Ship Creek area. In 1915, the Alaska Engineering Commission set up its construction camp and headquarters (at the anchorage of Ship Creek) while its staff oversaw the building of a railroad linking an ocean port with Interior river shipping routes.

The area quickly became a tent city, packed with people looking to capitalize on the onslaught of activity. That same year, more than 600 lots were sold in a town site auction. The Post Office Department called the area Anchorage. The township was incorporated in 1920. President Warren Harding drove in the final spike into the railroad in 1923.

The Port of Anchorage began official operations in the area in September 1961, and has become the state's most vital cargo connection to the rest of the world.

Ship Creek has served as Anchorage's major industrial and warehouse location for decades. The municipality (which includes Eagle River and Girdwood), meanwhile, has expanded to cover nearly 2,000 square miles.

Millions of dollars have been invested in Anchorage to offer residents places for the arts, education, culture and a generally strong economic foundation.

Meanwhile, Ship Creek has remained relatively forgotten. Located along the Knik Arm, overlooking Cook Inlet, Ship Creek is bordered by Elmendorf Air Force Base and the edges of the downtown business sector.

Because little has been done over the years to improve the roadways and buildings in Ship Creek, it's not a pretty place. Paint is peeling off or worn to discoloration on several old warehouses, and several are out of commission with their windows boarded up. Equipment and shipping containers are stacked high in storage yards covered only by chain-link fencing.

The streets are narrow and are hard to navigate. Semi-trucks are seen more often than pickups. Trucks backed into warehouse loading docks often block roadways.

In the last few years, however, Ship Creek has seen some new life. A handful of businesses have recently opened along the area under the C Street overpass, including Alaska Railroad headquarters, a Comfort Inn and the Ulu Factory. A new restaurant, built to look like a covered bridge spanning Ship Creek, should open before summer starts.

"That's not going to be just a summer fish barbecue," Sheffield said. "It will be a year-round restaurant, which Ship Creek really needs. Eventually, there will be three or four restaurants down there."

And that is just the beginning of the dreams.

The new Ship Creek

The improved Ship Creek could see a new railroad depot that would sit across the tracks from the current station and a new terminal to connect the two buildings. Outside will be space for short-term parking and passenger loading and unloading. A walkway and escalators will take passengers up the steep hill to E Street and the downtown area (currently, walkers must trek up several dozen steps and cross a busy street to get to downtown). Commuters may take a covered walkway to a bus stop or to the parking garage, where they may park their cars overnight.

The proposed garage will likely be built in the hill between North C Street and First Avenue. The top of the garage will be a grassy park area. The Ship Creek Intermodal Center would cost an estimated $54 million.

Coming up the walkway from the rail terminal, pedestrians will come out onto the E Street Corridor, which is currently being designed. A covered walkway is proposed to extend from the terminal to the Park Strip, at Ninth Avenue.

The city is currently reviewing how it can incorporate Ninth Avenue into the plans. The road is scheduled for resurfacing soon, so it's a good time to re-evaluate its use, the city's Michael said. It may be possible to narrow the street into two or three lanes, instead of four, and widen the walkways from the Fairview area westward to the water.

The corridor will connect pathways to the city's more widely used amenities, such as the museum (which has plans for expansion), the proposed convention center (up for voter approval in April), the Town Center (recently revitalized) and the Performing Arts Center.

At least two additional parking garages are also planned for downtown.

The E Street Corridor alone could cost as much as $20 million in both public and private money. Voters will be asked in the next year or two to approve a bond to provide for the city's portion of the funding.

A boardwalk is planned to veer off the coastal trail at about Fifth Avenue to connect with the soon-to-be revamped small boat launch area. The South Ship Creek Trail will overlook a newly created marshland, and will look much like Potter Marsh on the south edge of Anchorage.

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers this year will conduct a watershed study looking into the environmental possibilities of this project, Sheffield said.

The boat dock will be restored to better accommodate boats, as well as water watchers, and will include new pavement, lighting and upgraded restrooms. It will also be accessible for ferry traffic, anticipating a ferry route from the Matanuska Valley under discussion. Plans and schedules should be drawn up this year, Sheffield said. Eklutna Native Village plans to build a covered area displaying the history of Alaska Native life in the area.

The road to the dock will also get a much-needed overhaul. Work to build a bridge to the dock should begin this month. The city signed a $2.6 million contract with a Seattle contractor in late December to build the bridge. Total cost for the bridge project is $5.4 million.

The dock and trail could be complete as early as 2007, Sheffield said. Total costs are unknown.

Challenges

All this work doesn't come without making its own challenges.

"All people will need is a way to get to and from the area," Gamble said. "The secret to Ship Creek development is to get the transportation right and do it before the development comes in. If you don't get it right, it'll be the world's biggest logjam."