According to the property listing, the Shelikof Lodge at 211 Thorsheim Street was built in 1966. City of Kodiak records show that the permitting work and construction was completed by the Econotel of Alaska Inc. in 1965, which owned the land at the time.
The Kodiak landmark which featured the Island Room, was established less than two years after the devastating 1964 earthquake and tsunami. When the Shelikof Lodge first opened its doors, Ardingers was a House of Music, Sid and Martin Urie had just opened a new bar [Solly’s] and it was the heyday of the King Crab fishery in Kodiak. According to the Kodiak Maritime Museum, at that time in 1966, Oscar Dyson and Seldon “Nellie” Nelson launched their brand new, 99-foot steel Peggy Jo crab boat.
Since at least 1974, the Rella Mae Corporation out of Redmond, Washington has owned the Shelikof Lodge, restaurant and accompanying bar, with an active liquor license, according to city records.
Juris Mindenbergs is the principal owner of Rella Mae Corporation and has owned not only the Shelikof Lodge but also the Breeze Inn in Seward for decades. He sold the Seward hotel to a group of local owners in March of last year.
Mindenbergs could not be reached for comment, but the listing agent for the Shelikof Lodge, Linnea Johnson, said Mindenbergs is selling the Kodiak hotel because he’s retired and at 84 years-old he’s ready for the next chapter of life.
According to Kodiak Island Borough property data, the lodge’s assessed value is $1.9 million. The current listing price for the Kodiak property, which includes the 16,000 square foot lodge with 38 rooms and two parking lots, is twice that amount.
The listing agent told KMXT they hope the Shelikof Lodge is bought by someone who wants to preserve the building’s legacy. As of Dec. 18, they’ve had roughly a dozen interested buyers after being on the market for about two weeks.
