“We do have residential construction. It is a component in the whole mix, but it pales in comparison to what the commercial sector has been,” said Steve Shuttleworth, city building officer for Fairbanks.

The coming year will be no different, he said. 2008 promises to be an intense commercial season, with about $80 million worth. That's slightly down from the $131 million spent in 2007, the second-largest spending since 1903.

“Of that, 85 to 90 percent was commercial,” Shuttleworth said. “Typically we run about 75 percent, but we've been looking at a lot more commercial development in the last four or five years.”

Commercial work is primarily seen on the blossoming retail section on the northeast side of town and several different professional offices in the downtown area, helped to drive construction to a near-record high last year.

The greatest value for construction projects in the city of Fairbanks was set in 2004, with $141 million worth of work reported. That declined in 2005, with $111.7 million in new construction started, and even less in 2006, with $83.5 million.

All are considerably more than the city's historical annual averages of $40 million to $45 million, Shuttleworth said. Some local contractors would say the Interior's construction boom has a longer run than the five years of increased activity in the Fairbanks city proper.

“It's been pretty steady for Fairbanks the last 10 to 15 years. I grew up in the business in late 1970s, and the 1980s were terrible,” said Bert Bell, president of GHEMM Co., a Fairbanks-based general contractor with several local projects scheduled for completion this year. “There's still enough work that it's fairly robust. This year, my feeling is, will be flat at best.”

Bell anticipates “a bit of a pull back” in local construction activity this year. “As federal money drops off, in our industry, that's a lot of the work.”

Shuttleworth anticipates continued investment by the private sector in 2008, with continued retail and accommodations-type of construction activity being planned this year.

One key area of new commercial construction is land on the northeast side of Fairbanks, formerly owned by the Bentley Trust. Large box retailers, such as Home Depot, Lowe's, Wal-Mart and Fred Meyer, have built in the area, along with a number of smaller commercial businesses, such as Sportsman's Warehouse, Barnes and Noble, Old Navy and Petco. Several restaurants, bank branch offices and a new Holiday Inn Express have also sprouted up in the area in recent years.

Another hotel chain, Hampton Inn Suites, has submitted preliminary site plans for construction this year, Shuttleworth said.

“I predict this will be one of our last big construction seasons,” he said. “I know it will be a very strong year, but it will not rival the year we just came from.”

In addition to the newly developing retail sector on the outskirts of Fairbanks, the city's downtown area continues to enjoy a facelift, thanks to a number of high-profile projects currently being developed.

“It's nice when you see the downtown reinvented and developed,” Shuttleworth said. “There's just not a lot more property to build on, so you'll start to see existing buildings go through internal and external face lifts. You'll see some that will be removed by private sector mandate É we're starting to see a complexion change in the downtown area with new buildings and the riverbank restoration.”

One of the more visible downtown construction projects, the Morris Thompson Cultural and Visitor Center, started last year and is slated to be complete and serving its clients and customers this August, according to Cindy Schumaker, project director.

“We're on budget and ahead of schedule,” Schumaker said. “It continues the revitalization of downtown Fairbanks that is going on along the riverfront, an opportunity for the community to reclaim their river. There will be access to the Chena River that there wasn't before.”

The 38,000-square-foot facility will house the Fairbanks Convention and Visitors Bureau and the Alaska Public Lands Information Center, as well as dedicated exhibit space and cultural and education programs for the Tanana Chiefs Conference, the Interior Alaska Native nonprofit entity.

The new riverfront facility, located at 101 Dunkle St., near the Wendell Street bridge, has a budget of $29 million, which includes land acquisition costs and a $2 million endowment, Schumaker said.

GHEMM Co. is the general contractor for the new visitor center, as well as a new four-story professional office building that will serve as the new headquarters for Mt. McKinley Bank. The planned 45,000-square-foot facility is being built on the block between Third and Fourth avenues, with frontage at the corner of Lacey Street.

Construction is expected to be complete later this spring, and bank employees should begin moving in to the first, second and fourth floors of the new facility in early summer, according to Craig Ingham, Mt. McKinley president and CEO.

The bank plans to lease office space on the third floor of the new facility, as well as the bank's existing two-story building next door.

“It's kind of a difficult market for leasing out our existing building and also the third floor will be available for lease in the new building,” Ingham said. “We hope to be moved in by the first part of July.”

The project, including construction, architectural fees and specialized bank furnishing and equipment, will be about $15 million, Ingham said.

“The bank's presence is indicative of their strong commitment to this community. They really tried to make a building of substance and pleasing look,” Bell said. “There are a number of projects downtown that are changing the look and function (of the area).”

Another Chena Riverfront project that started last year with excavation and surface dirt work is the state's planned new sport fish hatchery. Shuttleworth expects the $30 million to $40 million project to kick off this year with concrete pouring.

The facility is also located on a plot of land on the Chena River, near the existing Carlson Center.