City Hall purchase moves forward after years of discussion

It won’t be long before the municipality finally owns the building that serves as City Hall. The building has been City Hall since 1979, but discussions about purchasing it didn't happen until 1983, and the city has been paying rent to its current owner since 2001. The mayor recalls purchasing discussions of City Hall long before she was mayor. “When I first got on the assembly, I remember former chair (Dick) Traini saying, ‘We need to buy that building. We have paid for it several times through the lease, and it's time to buy City Hall,” she said. Before the purchase of the building, the municipality was paying more than $4 million in rent, maintenance, and operations. She also shares that Anchorages' financial situation and saving money are the ultimate reasons for the purcha