A windfall could be on its way for affordable housing in Sitka.
The Alaska Housing Finance Corporation has proposed granting $4.5 million to the city to assist with new housing developments in Sitka, as part of the Last Frontier Housing Initiative. City administrator John Leach said Sitka and Ketchikan were each chosen to receive the funds.
“Both Sitka and Ketchikan are regularly overlooked in things like this because we’re too big to be called one of the small communities and we’re too small to be one of the big community so we’re kind of stuck in the middle here,” Leach said. “So there was direct focus on both Sitka and Ketchikan with this $4.5 million grant to move this project forward.”
Sitka would qualify to use the funding for an “affordable housing program” and it comes with some requirements, like building a certain number of rental units for low income housing, and a 15% matching fund from the city. The federal funding must be spent quickly- by the end of 2025.
Leach said if the assembly wants to pursue it, they would submit a non-binding letter of intent, and the assembly would likely issue a Request for Proposals, to find a partner for the project– Leach said ideally an organization that has experience in managing federal funds.
“It’s not going to fix the housing problem in Sitka, but it’s going to take a bite,” said assembly member Thor Christianson adding that by partnering with another organization, Sitka could end up with an even more substantial project.
“And so we could see a project that is significantly larger than $4.5 million, because they’ve got their own ways of raising money and leveraging,” he said.
During public comment, several urged the assembly to accept the funds. STA Tribal Council member Lillian Feldpausch also chairs the Baranof Island Housing Authority board.
“What an amazing belated Christmas gift,” said Feldpausch. I mean, $4.5 million to Sitka, as you mentioned, normally doesn’t come around…we don’t get thought of often, we are currently in a housing crisis, because a lot is so short.”
Feldpausch and executive director Cliff Richter said BIHA is currently shovel-ready to build an eight-plex adjacent to its existing multi-family housing on Indian River Road, and thought they could be a good partner with the city to develop more housing in the area.
While the assembly did not vote, they agreed to get more information on the funding and submit a non-binding letter of intent to the Alaska Housing Finance Corporation.
