Tikahtnu Commons

The 171,000-square-foot Target store?s roof neared completion in October 2007 as site construction on the rest of Tikahtnu Commons continued.

CIRI and its partner Browman Development Co. are developing a regional retail and entertainment center on a 95-acre parcel of CIRI land in northeast Anchorage.

The $100-million-plus project is expected to include 12 to 15 major retail stores and a total of 60 to 75 businesses, including small shops, restaurants, possibly a movie theater and other service and entertainment businesses. These stores include new-to-Alaska chains, such as the 171,000-square-foot Target store being built in the first phase of the project and scheduled to open on Oct. 12, 2008. Project construction is expected to last five to seven years.

Tikahtnu Commons will be a one-stop shopping destination for the whole family. The project will distinguish itself through high-quality architecture and construction, including variations in building facades and rooflines, an abundance of color, a pedestrian-friendly design, dispersed parking and screened and/or hidden service entrances.

CIRI?s partner, Browman Development Co., is an Oakland, Calif.-based firm that has worked on many large retail projects across the U.S. Browman will manage the Tikahtnu Commons project.

CIRI acquired the roughly 95-acre parcel in 1991 under the federal surplus property provisions of the Cook Inlet Land Exchange as part of its ANCSA settlement.

Lowe?s and Best Buy signed on in 2008 to join Target in anchoring Tikahtnu Commons. Lowe?s signed a purchase and sale agreement on Jan. 9 to build a 140,000-foot store. Lowe?s is the second largest home improvement retailer in the world and the nation?s second largest appliance retailer. Tikahtnu Commons will be Lowe?s fifth store in Alaska. Best Buy recently signed a tenant-executed building lease for a 30,000-square-foot store. Best Buy operates more than 1,200 retail stores in the U.S., Canada and China and posted $35.9 billion in revenue in fiscal year 2007.