Borough officials judged the land sale a success, with buyers taking 16 of the 20 residential lots offered at the Alder Top Village (Keishangita.’aan) subdivision upland from Shoemaker Bay.

“I’m elated,” Mayor Patty Gilbert said two days after the online auction closed Dec. 1.

The borough put about $4.2 million into developing the property, including putting in streets and buried utilities. The proceeds from the land sale will total a little over $1.08 million, assuming all of the winning bidders follow through and pay for the lots or arrange borough financing.

The mayor believes the development will pay benefits for the community in the years ahead.

The land will go on the property tax rolls, generating annual revenue for the borough, with that number increasing as homes are built on the lots. Spending on contractors, construction material and furnishings will boost economic activity in town and add to sales tax revenues, she said.

“A development where people can build a home is a good start,” Gilbert said.

She noted that property development is usually not a business for City Hall, though in this case it made sense for the borough to spend the money to develop the first phase of the subdivision to help meet the need for building lots.

She hopes a private developer will step up to buy the additional lots toward the back of the property and invest the money to build out the property for a second phase of land sales.

The 16 lots sold for an average of $67,712, ranging from $54,700 to $99,500. The most expensive lot sold for almost $30,000 above the minimum asking price.

All of the lots are about a half-acre in size, with the highest-price lots in the front row of the subdivision, with views of the waterfront.

In total, the 16 winning bids came in $56,500 over the minimum price set by the borough.

The four lots that did not sell through the five-month online auction went back on the sales block the day after the auction closed Dec. 1 and will be listed for 30 days at a time until sold, Borough Clerk Kim Lane explained.

Bidding is at publicsurplus.com.

Most of the lots that did not sell still have standing timber, said Kate Thomas, the borough’s economic development director. The southernmost lots in the subdivision will require clearing to make space for a house.

“I’m not surprised at those two lots,” she said of the two lots at the southern end of the property that received no bids.

Overall, Thomas was pleased with the auction results. “I’m stoked about it.”

Though the names of the new owners will not become public until the sales are finalized and the titles transferred, Thomas said the parcels did not go “to the seasonal rich from California.”

The winning bidders are a “healthy variety of young and old,” prospective new residents and people with families, she said, adding that she anticipates three to five will start construction in the spring.

The borough did not set a deadline for when a winning bidder has to construct a home. A building permit would be needed to start construction.

The borough has scheduled the sales paperwork signing for Monday, Dec. 15, with buyers needing to decide if they will pay cash or sign up for borough financing.

In addition to the four unsold lots that are back on the website for sale, the borough plans to list four more parcels sometime in the spring, Thomas said. Those four are directly behind the first phase of the development, with access to utilities that come up to the property line.

“If utilities are available, there is no reason not to put them up for auction,” she said.

Developing the other 16 lots of the second phase would require installation of utilities, Thomas said.

That second phase is what the mayor hopes a private developer will take on, buying the parcels in a single deal and saving the borough from having to lay out money for utilities and site work.