Denali Borough needs 150 more housing opportunities, assessment says

Denali Borough employers need at least 150 more places for people to live, a consultant told the borough Assembly and Planning Commission in Healy this week, even though the year-round population is flat or falling. About 70 of those would house permanent employees and 80 would house seasonal workers.

The borough is not short of buildings. The census counts 1,301 housing units in it. Only 565 are occupied year-round. Nearly 600 of the rest are seasonal, recreational or occasional-use homes rather than empty places somebody could rent. Less than 2 percent of the housing stock was listed for rent or sale recently.

Employers have filled the gap themselves, housing roughly 1,950 seasonal workers in dormitories, bunkhouses, RVs and converted lodging, and they still say it is not enough.

Much of what exists is rough. Census data show 42 percent of units lack complete plumbing, and the assessment also flagged weatherization, moisture control and accessibility as residents get older.

The cost of living there falls hard on households. The average one spends about 24 percent of its income on housing and another 29 percent getting around, more than $25,000 a year combined. That is 53 percent of income against a benchmark of 35.

Presiding Officer Jared Zimmerman said he would push year-round housing first, and called contributing borough land the obvious lever, possibly with deed restrictions on subdivisions or on anything built on land the borough provides. He said he does not want Healy to become "a place where people stay for a week while they work at a plant."

The Minnesota Housing Partnership, which produced the assessment, will keep providing technical help through 2027 at no cost and can put up to $50,000 toward pre-development work. Comment on the 115-page assessment is open through September on the borough website.