Saxman receives federal money to build affordable housing

Saxman, a community of about 400 people just south of the city of Ketchikan, will build 14 affordable housing units over the next year.

In partnership with the Ketchikan Gateway Borough, Saxman will use $4.5 million in federal COVID-19 relief funds distributed through the Alaska Housing Finance Corp. to develop four apartment buildings — three fourplexes and one duplex — containing a total of 14 two-bedroom dwellings for low-income tenants. The units could be open for occupancy by the end of 2025.

AHFC, a public corporation and independent state agency, this year is distributing $26 million in leftover COVID-19 emergency rental assistance funding through its Last Frontier Housing Initiative to support development of new affordable housing units in Kotzebue, Nome, Bethel, Sitka and Ketchikan.

The housing grants come with a catch: Because the federal funding source is expiring, the money must be spent by Sept. 30, 2025.

AHFC Executive Director Brian Butcher, who visited Saxman in July, told city officials that they are the first community to complete the “request for proposals” process for construction and project management firms, and to enter the preconstruction phase.

Saxman this summer hired Dawson Construction and proHNS to complete the respective construction and management work for the development. The project team hopes to begin constructing the new housing units in September, and to have the roofs on all four buildings by November or December, said Saxman City Administrator Marissa Medford.

Medford said Saxman and the borough have confirmed designs with Dawson Construction for the dwellings the company will build on three city-owned lots in Saxman.

The federal money requires a $675,000 local match. Saxman will provide the land, and the borough will provide services and cash to cover the balance.

As of this month, Saxman does not have any information from AHFC about how the city should select tenants for the low-income housing units, or how it should set up lease agreements with residents, according to Medford.