Client: Kumin Associates, Inc.
Owner: Cook Inlet Region, Inc.
Cost of Work: $7 million

PND performed structural design and inspection services for this 50,000-square-foot, 100-unit hotel on a hill overlooking the town of Talkeetna, and the Susitna and Chulitna rivers. Its primary feature is a breathtaking vista of Mount McKinley. The project consists of a 50-unit lodge with dining, lobby and conference rooms. Another 48 rooms are spread throughout the wooded site in the form of 12-plex units. There is separate housing facility for employees, and a maintenance shop. The structure is two and three stories of wood-framed construction. The lobby is an A-frame design with the peak standing 50 feet tall. Local logs were used for lobby columns. Alaska Yellow Cedar was used in the exterior glulam trusses. A significant feature of the project was the fast-track, design-build approach. CIRI began design and construction simultaneously in July of 1998 with the goal of spring 1999 completion. Through close coordination with the architect and contractor and with phased design packages, the hotel was opened for business on time in May 1999.