WASILLA -- The Alaska Industrial Development and Export Authority is throwing its long-term loan weight behind a new family-oriented entertainment center planned for Wasilla.
AIDEA on Thursday approved a $5.4 million loan to Oregon movie theater magnate John Schweiger. The money represents most of the financing needed for the Valley Family Fun Center planned for a 5-acre site near Wal-Mart and Schweiger's Mat-Su Cinema, part of the Coming Attractions Theatres 18-cinema chain.
Schweiger was traveling in Florida and couldn't take a reporter's call, an employee at the company's head offices said Friday.
According to AIDEA, Schweiger's plan calls for a 58,333-square-foot facility built along Seward Meridian Parkway, with go-karts, bumper cars, a soft play area for younger children, a video game arcade, laser tag and a viewing area so parents can keep an eye on the kids. Construction is planned to start in the spring and finish by winter.
The center is expected to generate 30 to 50 jobs, AIDEA documents show.
The AIDEA loan is 90 percent of a $6 million package. Northrim Bank originated the loan and is providing a $600,000 loan, according to AIDEA spokesman Karsten Rodvik.
"It's a good investment, it's a good business for the Valley, and we're very pleased to partner with Northrim," Rodvik said.
The center got mixed reviews at a city hearing over the summer. About eight people testified before the Wasilla planning commission when the conditional-use permit application for the center was approved in July. Schweiger also got permission for a theater expansion.
Several business boosters expressed support for the new center but a few neighbors voiced concerns about trash, crime like vehicle break-ins, or noise.
There are no businesses quite like this one in the Matanuska-Susitna Borough, although several provide family recreation for a price, such as gymnastics centers or the Alaska Club.
The project matches AIDEA's mission "to promote development and advance economic growth," Rodvik said.
Officials say AIDEA, the state's development finance authority, is a self-supporting entity, a more than $1 billion public corporation created by the Legislature in 1967 that earns money from investments and projects around the state rather than appropriations from the general fund.
Its involvement in the Wasilla Family Fun Center comes through a loan participation program that involves 11 banks that originate the loans, then approach AIDEA for partnership.
Going through AIDEA instead of Northrim for much of the loan will give Schweiger a 25-year loan with a 5.35 percent fixed interest rate, Rodvik said.
The Northrim loan is a 10-year, three-year-adjustable rate underwritten at 5.5 percent as the initial rate, according to AIDEA documents.
A long-term, fixed interest rate is "the most important benefit" AIDEA offers businesses, Rodvik said.
It's good for AIDEA's portfolio too; over time, Schweiger's payment will amount to $9.8 million in principal and interest, according to Rodvik.
For some, AIDEA's name will forever be linked to its backing of the failed Alaska Seafood International plant in South Anchorage on which AIDEA spent about $50 million.
But the Authority, and its website, would rather point to loan participation success stories ranging from H2Oasis and Bear Tooth Theatrepub in Anchorage to the Mount Roberts Tramway in Juneau and a new Alaska Commercial store in Barrow.
AIDEA's total loan portfolio is currently more than $374 million, with $41.7 million of that portfolio in Mat-Su businesses including Three Bears, Edge Fitness and Rock-On Climbing, according to Rodvik.
Asked if some may accuse AIDEA of favoring Schweiger over other private businesses in the area, Rodvik said that question assumes other businesses aren't already getting help.
He said AIDEA didn't originate the Valley Family Fun Center loan; Northrim Bank did. And Schweiger looks to be a good investment for the state corporation.
"He presents significant strengths in his business experience in the entertainment-related business, as the owner of a number of theaters. He's got a strong management team with a proven history of profitability," Rodvik said.
Contact Zaz Hollander at zhollander@alaskadispatch.com.