Members of the Downtown Anchorage community say they’re pleased to hear from Mayor Dan Sullivan Tuesday that the Inlet Inn, the scene of numerous calls to Anchorage police for incidents including a fatal stabbing a year ago, is slated to close.
Bob Flint is not only a member of the Holy Family Cathedral Catholic church on 5th Avenue: he’s also a member of its safety committee, which is chaired by Jim Crittenden.
“You see a lot of the problems that go on around here,” Flint said. “And, of course, the disruptions sometimes during Mass and in the church have been constant, and the last two years they've been getting worse -- and so that’s why I followed Jim onto the safety committee.”
Flint, Crittenden and other committee members of the church, which recently changed its policy regarding homeless people, routinely patrol the church grounds. They say they often find empty liquor bottles, urine and trash -- many of which are in large part due to the Inlet Inn.
“This hotel has been a thorn in our side for quite some time,” Crittenden said. “And it isn't just our church, it’s our whole Downtown community, which -- it's a wart.”
It’s an issue the community may no longer have to deal with after Sullivan’s announcement that the closure of the hotel is quickly approaching, due to an agreement with property owner Augustine Energy Center LLC.
“I salute them for being good community members and making this very serious and tough decision,” Sullivan said.
The Inlet Inn was in the news last year after the death of 50-year-old Andrew Wilson on Jan. 31, 2012. Wilson had been kicked out of a room by 51-year-old Jackie Adams after a dispute over its cost, before Adams let him back in and fatally stabbed him. A jury convicted Adams of second-degree murder in less than three hours of August deliberations.
The inn's owners say its bad press has rubbed off on them as well.
“For whatever reason the operation has perpetuated an environment where problems occur, and it’s been problems that affect us as the owner of the property,” said Mark Pfeffer with Augustine Energy Center LLC.
Sullivan says the Inlet Inn will be closed by the end of the month.
Contact Mallory Peebles and Chris Klint
