Girdwood realtors George McCoy and Skip Minder formed Alyeska Real Estate LLC, last month. The company specializes in residential and commercial sales as well as development opportunities.
Minder came to Alaska in 1969 and has been in real estate since 1979. He has been the broker of two different real estate companies and moved to Girdwood in 2004.
McCoy moved to Alaska in 1972 and settled in Girdwood in 1974. He has been in real estate since 1983 and has been active in the community since moving here 34 years ago.
Previously associated with a large franchise, McCoy and Minder felt that a smaller company would allow them the flexibility to provide more personalized service to their clients. Alyeska Real Estate is the first Girdwood office that also provides service to clients in the Anchorage Bowl. With a combined 50 years experience, McCoy and Minder can help with all your real estate needs. Inquires are welcome. Coffee’s on and the door is always open! They can be reached at 783-0039 or 783-2937.
By April Reed &
Sheila DeNuptiis
Special to the Turnagain Times
You’ve heard the talk, seen the flyers and answered the questionnaires. Now we are happy to report that it’s real and it will be starting this spring: the Girdwood Community and Peace Gardens. As per our most recent meeting on Feb. 8 at the Girdwood Chapel, we offer the following two types of garden project opportunities for 2007.
The first project is a Peace Garden, location to be determined, but somewhere near water. Suggestions are welcomed. The Peace Garden will be peaceful and loving to the environment, which means it will be self-sustaining and should not require watering, weeding or grooming. The garden will include indigenous, non-invasive plants and will provide a safe and natural place to learn, walk, sit and play. Simply stated, this garden will offer a place where individuals can feel a sense of connection and contemplation to the land that creates and sustains Girdwood.
The second project is the Girdwood Community Garden, or GCG. This will be modeled after the Municipality of Anchorage’s community garden plots. Girdwood Chapel is providing a garden area for the GCG on church property, in its continued efforts to provide community services to Girdwood/Four Valleys. This area receives full sun and is located in an accessible area and next to the park.
In addition to the land, there is some available peat from building excavation to use as a start for soil.
In order to get things going for this season, we will require a lot of volunteers for basic organization, newsletters, community partnerships, grant seeking and/or donations, garden tools and labor for the construction of the garden area itself.
Overwhelming response demonstrates the desire for GCG to be an organic garden offering various-sized plots for individual or family needs within the community. The charges for the plots will depend on the size and additional services offered, such as but not limited to water, tools, bathroom facilities and pooled knowledge.
Raised beds are the preferred method for plots. We have already received offers of commitment for non-treated lumber and wood from various sources. We have also received two offers of greenhouse space for herbs as well as some veggie starts.
Additional donations of fishing nets (salmon or herring seine nets) and rope for fencing have been presented. Supplies, though, are still needed, such as garden tools, planting tools, seed or plant trays, a wheelbarrow, hoses, watering cans; clean food-grade trash cans for collecting water; locking storage container for tools and equipment, cold boxes and/or greenhouse space.
In addition, we will need volunteers to raise a fence for GCG, and plan, plant and build a year round structure for the Peace Garden. If you have a couple of extra buckets of compost to donate, or even an unused greenhouse, we’ll take that too. There will be communal areas for composting, cleaning produce, a perennial herb garden, rhubarb, raspberries and strawberry patches.
We do not have a web page yet and would appreciate volunteers. For further information or to become a recipient of GCG news and emails, email us at: girdwoodcommunitygarden@yahoo.com.
We are looking forward to further meetings about the formation, layout, plantings, time-line and general gardening do’s/don’ts/pests for both garden plans. Stay tuned.