The Soldotna Riverfront Redevelopment project received another boon during Tuesday night’s Kenai Peninsula Borough Assembly meeting when it was formally adopted into the borough’s comprehensive plan.
The project was originally presented as a part of Soldotna’s 2015 Downtown Improvement Plan as an initiative to spur private investment, create new jobs, and improve the quality of life for residents and visitors. In recent years, the project has developed substantially and was unanimously adopted by the city council on February 14, 2024. Following Soldota’s official adoption of the plan, a request was passed along to the borough seeking the project’s formal adoption via the amending of the 2019 Kenai Peninsula Borough Comprehensive Plan.
Assemblymember Cindy Ecklund from Seward explained that this is part of the borough’s procedure for changes to city and borough planning. “Part of our comprehensive plan in the borough is that when entities–cities and parts of cities–update their comprehensive plan and make amendments to it, then it comes back to the borough to include it into our borough comprehensive plan.”
The City first applied for a $360,000 grant from the U.S. Economic Development Agency to fund planning efforts for a new and improved waterfront. The grant was finally awarded in the summer of 2023.
The project includes a proposed three-story, 32,000-square-foot public mall on the western end of Soldotna Creek Park, which would be connected to a two-level parking structure. The main floor of the mall would be designated for vendor stalls and a central commons. The lower level would accommodate businesses that need more space than a stall can provide. The upper level would house meeting and community rooms.
“The City is really excited about it, looking forward to beginning implementation of parts of [the project],” said John Czarnezki, the City of Soldotna Director of Economic Development and Planning, during the assembly meeting.
According to the ordinance adopted by the assembly, “the Plan is consistent with and furthers the goals, policies, and objectives of “Envision Soldotna 2030,” the comprehensive plan for that area of the borough within the boundaries of the City of Soldotna.
The full Riverfront Redevelopment plan can be viewed in a PowerPoint presentation shown during a Soldotna Planning & Zoning Commission work session in November 2023.