The Economic Development Board has recommended to the borough assembly that it put up half of the 20 lots at the Alder Top Village (Keishangita.’aan) subdivision in an online auction to the highest bidders, with the other half going on sale by lottery.
There would be no limit on how many lots an individual could purchase in the auction, but the board decided to recommend limiting the lottery to one lot per individual.
The five-member advisory board voted unanimously Dec. 20 to forward its recommendations to the assembly, which has final say on the sale of borough property.
The land sale plan is likely to come before the assembly early in the new year.
Under the timeline prepared by borough staff, the auction would come first, in April and May, followed by the lottery in June or July.
The 20 lots are the first phase of residential development at the site of the former Bureau of Indian Affairs Wrangell Institute boarding school uphill from Shoemaker Beach. The borough took ownership of the land in 1996.
“Alder Top has been a long time coming,” Kate Thomas, economic development director, told the board last month.
Board members discussed at length whether to recommend limiting the number of lots an individual could buy in the lottery. The original plan imposed no limit. Board member John DeRuyter proposed at the Dec. 20 meeting limiting the lottery to one lot per person.
However, member Jillian Privett said she was concerned that lots could go unused if there is a shortage of lottery participants and the borough placed a limit on how many parcels any individual could buy.
The board unanimously adopted the recommendation of one lot per person.
“The lottery is sensitive, we’ve got to get it right,” said board member Brian Ashton.
It will cost participants $100 for each entry in the lottery. Registering for the auction will cost $500.
All 20 lots are close to half an acre.
The 10 lots with unobstructed views of the water would be sold to the highest bidders starting at their appraised value, ranging from about $53,000 to $70,000 each.
The 10 back-row lottery parcels would be sold at a fixed price of between $45,000 to $60,000 each.
All of the lots are zoned single-family residential. The board’s recommended land sale plan includes the note: “Lots may not be used for storing vehicles, boats, machinery or otherwise. Nor any part thereof be used for dumping or storage ground for refuse or rubbish of any kind.”
The borough expects to have streets and utilities installed by next fall. Potential lottery participants and auction bidders would be allowed access to inspect the parcels before the sale, Thomas explained. Possession would not be allowed until after the borough finishes construction work.
The borough could recover from the land sale about half of what it will have spent to clear and develop the property, an estimated $2.4 million — a point which several board members raised in their discussion of setting terms for the sales.
Bob Dalrymple, board chair, noted the “tension between maximum revenue for the borough … and maximum opportunity” for people to build and own a home.
The borough will not provide financing for the land or home construction but is planning to gather lenders and contractors for a public event sometime in February to provide information for potential bidders and new homeowners.
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