Huna Totem Corporation has dramatically scaled back its plans for a private cruise ship dock in downtown Juneau, citing tariffs, rising construction costs and a yearlong legal delay.
The project, known as Aak’w Landing, was originally set to include up to 50,000 square feet of multistory retail and commercial space with underground parking and extensive development on pilings over the water.
The revised plan cuts that down to about 18,000 square feet across single-story buildings, eliminates underground parking entirely, and pulls construction back from the shoreline.
Susan Bell, Huna Totem’s vice president of strategic initiatives, said the company is still aiming to deliver the same core guest experience despite the smaller footprint.
“We just scaled back to the property as it exists now and scaled the buildings down, and still feel it’s going to be an excellent guest experience and an excellent place for residents,” Bell said.
The project will still include a welcome center, retail space, waterfront dining and a cultural center, along with an extension of Juneau’s Seawalk. Bus staging parking stays the same, though general guest parking has been reduced. The 38 spaces planned still exceed the city’s minimum requirement of 20.
Why the cuts
Huna Totem says development costs climbed from about $150 million in 2023 to more than $250 million now.
The company points to four factors — a legal appeal of the project’s permit that delayed construction for about a year, time spent restarting public engagement once that appeal was resolved, tariffs that drove up the cost of steel and other materials, and a geotechnical analysis that found the original waterfront design too costly to build safely.
Norwegian Cruise Line originally purchased the nearly three-acre waterfront parcel for $20 million in 2019, then donated it to Huna Totem in 2022.
What happens next
Because the changes are so drastic, the project has to go back through Juneau’s Planning Commission for a modified permit before construction can begin.
Huna Totem still hopes to open the dock in time for the 2028 cruise season, though Bell has acknowledged that the permitting process and materials sourcing could push that timeline back.
The company says its goal is to keep the project’s cost near the original $150 million estimate, despite the increases seen so far.
The dock is designed to handle one large cruise ship at a time, with a capacity of up to 4,500 passengers.
Supporters say it would let passengers walk straight into downtown Juneau instead of tendering in from ships anchored in Gastineau Channel, and would let vessels plug into shore power once it’s available.
