Telephone Hill

Juneau, Alaska | 2023-2024

Housing the People of Juneau

They City of Juneau's housing shortage has had serious impacts on residents cost of living, accommodation for its tourism economy and government officials visiting throughout the year. The goal for the project was to help fill the housing gap by designing new housing on a site adjacent to the downtown; accommodating new public gathering spaces, respecting the existing natural vegetation, and recounting the history and traditions of site.

First Forty Feet led a series of community input events to lead the visioning process and collaborated.

24-0426_Telephone Hill Engagment Photo.jpg

Image credit: Mark Sabbatini / Juneau Empire

What we heard...

How desirable is walking and biking to downtown and waterfront destination?

What two or three words best describe Telephone Hill?

How important is it to have Telephone Hill physically connected to other districts?

Would you like to see Telephone Hill as an extension of:

Testing some ideas

During the second open house with Juneau residents, four alternative designs were presented to help steer the project in the right direction.

Overwhelmingly, residents understood that Option C would deliver the most housing on the site, so, ultimately, this was the preferred option.

Drivers of design based on public input process.

Building community capital through design

The City of Juneau will be able to add 210 new homes to downtown, which will have a positive impact on downtown businesses, help meet the housing shortage, and provide sustainable transportation alternatives that will save residents money, have no impact on the parking demand downtown, and keep the carbon footprint low.

The design is about more than just providing housing downtown; it's about building a community. Gathering spacing tied to prominent viewing platforms and green spaces provide residents the opportunity to recreate, relax and share with one another.