$1.54 million in federal rent aid for Kotzebue's four subsidized elder apartments

A federal housing contract worth $1,542,771 is covering operating costs at Tupqich Elder Apartments in Kotzebue, a four-apartment building for very-low-income seniors.

The money goes to Tupqich Elder Apts. Inc. under HUD's Project Rental Assistance Contract program, which pays a building's owner the difference between what low-income tenants can afford and what the building costs to run. Tenants pay 30 percent of their adjusted income toward rent and utilities. The contract covers the balance.

The record does not state the contract's term, or whether this is a first award or a renewal.

The building operates under Section 202, HUD's supportive housing program for people 62 and older. HUD lists it under an active assistance contract, serviced out of the agency's Denver hub. The agency's property records show five apartments, four of them subsidized.

A 2022 state inventory of senior independent-living housing lists two such buildings in Kotzebue: Tupqich with four units and Iglut Senior Apartments with 15.

Nationally, about 2,800 Section 202 contracts serve roughly 123,000 households — an average of more than 40 households each. Tenants' average annual household income is about $15,634.