Kodiak weighs selling a vacant city lot for a building with six apartments over six shops

A Kodiak company wants to build six apartments over six shops on a vacant city lot just north of the municipal airport. On Thursday, the City Council takes its first vote on selling it the land for $200,000.

Interim City Manager Tim Putney listed the apartments among the sale's benefits. "Six residential units address a need that Kodiak has consistently identified as a constraint on hiring and economic growth," he wrote in the council packet.

Housing has come up elsewhere in Kodiak, too. Last month, a borough Assembly member asked for monthly counts of short-term rentals, citing a Coast Guard housing crunch. The Coast Guard has awarded contracts for 30 family housing units at Base Kodiak, which is slated to be home port for the first two new Arctic Security Cutters.

The buyer, Kodiak Jacks LLC, plans a two-story building at 2478 Selief Lane, with one entrance off Selief Lane and 50 parking spaces. It estimates the project at about $1.6 million. The company says the lot is near more than 90 homes, with 25 or more expected on the property next door in the next five to seven years. Putney wrote that the lot sits beside a future RurAL CAP housing development and would fit the new neighborhood.

The sale comes with a condition. If the company doesn't finish the building and get a certificate of occupancy within seven years of getting the deed, the lot reverts to the city. The agreement requires a two-story building at least 100 by 50 feet, with commercial space on the ground floor and at least five apartments above.

The $200,000 price matches an appraisal by MacSwain Associates of Anchorage. Putney wrote that the sale would bring in that money right away and that a finished building would add sales and property taxes.

Kodiak Jacks applied for the lot in October 2025. The city advertised the chance for others to apply, and no one else filed a complete application. The council weighed the sale over the summer and told the city manager in July to move ahead. The city signed a purchase agreement with the company in August.

Thursday's vote is a first reading. A public hearing and final vote would come at a later meeting. Even after final approval, residents would have a month to file a referendum petition, which would hold the sale until the petition is rejected or voters approve it.