- Details
- By Tribal Business News Staff
- Real Estate
An ongoing housing project in Kodiak, Alaska will soon have six more acres to work with, potentially opening more affordable housing in the area. The Kodiak City Council has approved the sale of four lots to the Kodiak Island Housing Authority for use in the Self-Help Housing program.
The program is a collaborative effort between the city of Kodiak, the Kodiak Island Housing Authority (KIHA), and the Rural Alaska Community Action Program (RurAL CAP), as well as the Tangirnaq Native Village and the Koniag Alaska Native Corporation.
The Self-Help Housing Program has provided more than 100 new homes on the Kenai Peninsula, according to Koniag. By supporting this latest effort on behalf of KIHA and Rural CAP, the corporation hopes to stop people leaving the area.
“This public partnership is about more than just constructing houses,” Koniag President Shauna Hegna said in a statement. “It is about demonstrating that Kodiak has the resilience and determination to change the outmigration tide.”
The land will be sold to KIHA for about $500,000. KIHA will then help local applicants construct 10 homes on the acreage, which is split into four lots of land. Covering construction costs will be supported in part by a $1 million grant from the Department of Agriculture’s Rural Development agency. In addition, applicants are required to seek mortgage loans under the USDA’s 502 direct-loan program.
The new homes will be the first constructed in a rural Alaskan community under the Self-Help Housing program. The title stems from a requirement that applicants provide a weekly 35 hours of labor, or “sweat equity,” toward program-built homes. As the labor takes the place of a traditional down payment, the program widens access to housing, per the Koniag statement.
The program stands to “make home ownership a reality” for more families throughout Kodiak Mayor Pat Branson said in the Koniag press release.
“Moving ahead with this partnership is a crucial step toward tackling Kodiak’s housing shortage and delivering real housing solutions,” Branson said in a statement. “By transferring this land, we are investing in our residents and ensuring that housing remains available for our city’s future.”
