An Update from The Net Loft

First, thank you.

Over the past several years, The Net Loft has been through more transitions than we ever imagined. Throughout all of them, we have been deeply touched by the patience, encouragement, and support of our customers, friends, and the Cordova community.

We know there have been many questions about what happened to the property where we originally planned to build, why we are still in the church sanctuary, and what is happening with the Steens building.

We would like to share an update.

What happened to the property where we planned to build?

For many years, we had a vision for a new, state-of-the-art home for The Net Loft. We imagined a building that would expand our retail space and mail order operations, while also creating a Community Creative Arts Center with classroom and gathering space for Cordova.

We had hoped this project would not only provide a wonderful new home for The Net Loft, but would also contribute to the revitalization of Main Street.

Unfortunately, during the development of the property, we discovered extensive contaminated soil.

The reality of the contamination, the costs we have incurred, and the extraordinary expense of completing the required remediation brought us to the difficult decision that we could no longer move forward with the building project as originally envisioned.

This was devastating for us. We had put years of thought, work, and hope into this vision for The Net Loft and for our community.

At this point, the future of that property is uncertain. There is still approximately 300 tons of contaminated soil on the site, and hundreds of thousands of dollars of remediation work remain. One of the challenges is that there is currently no site in Alaska equipped to handle the type of remediation this soil requires.

We are continuing to work through what comes next for that property.

Why are we still in the church?

At the same time all of this was happening, our longtime location, which was owned by CCBC, was scheduled to be demolished to make way for a new church to be built by Samaritan's Purse.

The church generously offered us space in its sanctuary, and we moved The Net Loft there.

We thought it would be temporary.

At the time, we fully expected that we would soon be moving into our new building.

As circumstances changed, however, our temporary home became much longer-term than any of us anticipated. We are incredibly grateful to the church for providing us a place where we could continue serving our customers while we worked through these unexpected challenges.

What is the Steens building?

As it became clear that the original building project was no longer feasible, we began looking for another way forward.

We saw an opportunity in the Steens building at 505 First Street, an original Cordova building that is approximately 100 years old.

We had hoped to purchase the building in December 2025 and use it as an interim home for The Net Loft while we continued to work toward our long-term plans. Unfortunately, on the very day we were preparing to close on the building, it flooded. The closing had to be postponed, and we had to take a step back to address the unexpected damage and the circumstances surrounding the property.

As the months went on, and as the realities of the original building project and the contaminated property became clearer, we ultimately decided that 505 First Street offered us a different path forward.

We purchased the building in April 2026.

Our hope is to give this important Main Street building a new life as The Net Loft on Main.

The building needs much more than a cosmetic renovation. We are working to address the structure and the underlying systems of the building so that it can be a safe, solid, beautiful, and functional home for The Net Loft for many years to come.

We want to preserve the character of this historic Cordova building while making it distinctly Net Loft.

And yes—we are planning for a new classroom space so that we can once again offer the creative classes, workshops, and community activities that have always been an important part of The Net Loft.

What is happening at 505 First Street now?

Renovation is underway.

We are working carefully and deliberately, paying attention not only to what people will see when they walk through the door, but also to everything beneath the surface—the structure, plumbing, heating, electrical systems, and other essential elements that will make the building safe and functional for the future.

We want to create a building that is not simply beautiful on the outside, but one that is sound and thoughtfully rebuilt from the inside out.

Our goal is to have The Net Loft on Main fully operational at 505 First Street by Summer 2027.

That is our hope and our working goal, although renovating a nearly 100-year-old building inevitably brings surprises, so we will keep you informed as the work progresses.

And what does this mean for The Net Loft?

It means that The Net Loft is continuing.

After more than 42 years in Cordova, we are still here, still working, still dreaming, and still committed to providing the fine gifts adn jewelry, housewares,creative supplies, yarn, art materials, classes, workshops, and inspiration that you have come to know and trust.

The path has certainly not been the one we expected.

We had imagined building something entirely new. Instead, we have been given the opportunity to breathe new life into an old Cordova building and make it part of the next chapter of The Net Loft.

We are excited about that.

There is still a lot of work ahead of us, but we are working diligently to build something that will serve The Net Loft and our community for many years to come.

Thank you for staying with us through all of these transitions.

Thank you for asking questions.
Thank you for your patience.
Thank you for continuing to shop with us.
And most of all, thank you for believing in The Net Loft.

We look forward to welcoming you to The Net Loft on Main at 505 First Street.

With gratitude, Dotty, Laura, Cully, and the Net Loft Team