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

A federal award is keeping very-low-income seniors housed at Tupqich Elder Apartments in Kotzebue, covering operating costs their rent alone does not pay. HUD's assisted-property records list it as a five-apartment building, four of those apartments subsidized.

The award, $1,542,771, went to Tupqich Elder Apts Inc. under HUD's renewable Project Rental Assistance Contract (PRAC) program, though the record does not specify whether this is a first award or a renewal.

Tenants pay 30 percent of their adjusted income toward rent and utilities. The federal contract pays the owner the balance.

The award, ID AK19S041005-26Z, comes through HUD's Section 202 Supportive Housing for the Elderly program, which serves people 62 and older. HUD lists the property as currently under an active assistance contract, serviced out of the agency's Denver hub.

Nationally, roughly 2,800 such contracts serve about 123,000 households, with average annual household income for tenants around $15,634.