(Anchorage, Alaska) Cook Inlet Region, Inc. announced the development of the first office tower in what will become the Fireweed Business Center. Once the site of the Fireweed Theater, the now vacant 8.35-acre site at the corner of Fireweed Lane and the New Seward Highway will soon be home to CIRI's corporate offices, as well as upscale, commercial office space available for lease.

With panoramic views sweeping from the Chugach Mountains to Cook Inlet, the Fireweed Business Center will be Anchorage’s newest available commercial space. The office tower, centrally located in midtown Anchorage, offers easy access to major thoroughfares, convenient parking, state-of-the-art energy efficiency and will feature one of the most extensive collections of Alaska Native art.

“CIRI envisions a campus of upscale office buildings at the Fireweed Business Center,” said CIRI President and CEO Sophie Minich. “At a time when the Anchorage commercial real estate market is tight, CIRI is prepared to meet the demand with a project that will be as iconic for the community as it is for our company.”

CIRI Land Development Company (CLDC) is leading the project with RIM Architects and Davis Constructors & Engineers, Inc. The 110,000-square-foot, eight-story building is being designed with the input of CIRI shareholders and employees to reflect the cultural values of sustainability, diversity and a respect for the land.

“We’re really striving to develop a project that not only offers businesses the accommodations they need to be successful, but one that displays the pride we have in our region, the strength of its people and the values that have sustained us for thousands of years,” Minich said.

Site preparation began this week and construction is scheduled to begin next spring. CIRI Land Development Company is working with potential tenants on pre-lease options and the ability to incorporate their input into the building’s design. The building is projected to be completed in the winter 2014.

CLDC is CIRI’s wholly owned real estate subsidiary, with holdings in Alaska, Arizona, California, Hawaii and Texas. Its most recent projects in Alaska include the Tikahtnu Commons Retail and Entertainment Center and 11000 C Street.

More information about the Fireweed Business Center, including a video about the design concepts, is available atwww.FireweedCenter.com.