Bye Sore!

A crowd gathers

The wrecking ball goes to work

Who would have thought that, in oil-rich Alaska, folks would celebrate the demolition of a gas station? But that's what happened as more than 50 residents and Mayor Mark Begich gathered one September afternoon to cheer on a wrecking ball as it tore down a service station at the corner of Mountain View Drive and Bragaw Street in the Mountain View neighborhood of Anchorage.

For years, the shuttered station has been the community's number one eyesore, at the top of every list of "things our community doesn't need." But now, thanks to the Chevron Corporation and the Anchorage Community Land Trust, it's gone, and the site is being cleared of the chemicals and contaminants gas pumps can leave behind.

Even better, the parcel won't lay fallow for long. Mountain View's number one eyesore, in fact, is about to be replaced by its number one need - a local financial institution, something the community's been without for more than 20 years.

Not anymore. Credit Union 1 plans to build a $2 million, 4,000 square foot facility on the site for a new branch, with two drive-through windows, a community conference room and even a police sub-station. It's also talking with a local middle school (currently being remodeled) about offering financial literacy classes when the school reopens next fall.

Credit Union 1 President Leslie Ellis told The Anchorage Daily News that she's been eyeing the neighborhood "for years," adding that the new branch "fulfills the social mission of a credit union and of Credit Union 1 in particular."

It's just the latest good news worth celebrating in Mountain View, an area the city has targeted for revitalization. Across the street, for example, a HUD-guaranteed loan has brought in private dollars to transform an abandoned furniture warehouse into a 5,000 square foot office building. On the parcel next door, HUD Community Development Block Grant funds have been used to open a museum. The City is also building a new branch library and gearing up for street improvements on this "main street" during 2009. And last, but not least, HUD HOME Investment Partnership funds, Low Income Housing Tax Credits and Native American Housing & Self Determination Act funds are being pooled to rejuvenate the neighborhood's housing stock.

"Just throwing Federal dollars willy-nilly at problems has almost never worked," said HUD's Regional Director. "But as what's happening in Mountain View shows, making prudent, targeted use of Federal dollars to spark other private and public investments clearly is an effective way to rebuild and rejuvenate neighborhoods. Thanks to the hard work and strong partnerships that have been formed, it's clear that the best is yet to come in Mountain View."