Soldotna Riverfront Plan
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THE HISTORY
The City of Soldotna, Alaska, is situated on the western Kenai Peninsula, approximately 60 air miles south of Anchorage. The City aims to redevelop an 85-acre portion of downtown, adjacent to the world-renowned Kenai River. This area comprises a mix of auto-oriented businesses along the bustling Sterling Highway, along with underutilized and undeveloped properties adjacent to the river. The project area stretches about eight-tenths of a mile along the Sterling Highway, lying between the highway and the river. Soldotna encompasses 7.4 square miles and has an estimated population of 4,449. Despite its small size and number of residents, Soldotna is the regional hub of the central peninsula and serves an area of about 30,000 people.
THE CHALLENGE
First Forty Feet along with their team of development strategists, transportation and civil engineers, environmental scientists, and landscape architects was selected by the City of Soldotna, to prepare a redevelopment plan for the 85-acre commercial corridor between the Sterling Highway and the Kenai River.
The project process involved confirming community values, and gathering community feedback on iterative planning and design concepts and implementing strategies over nearly fifteen months of community engagement. The process identified market-viable development, placemaking strategies, and design for riverfront access and open spaces. The project included extensive land use planning, traffic and street design, parking considerations, environmental analysis, capital investments, and other associated professional services
Shaped by community input, the riverfront redevelopment plan reflects shared community values.