Lease extension to 2094 would let Chugiak senior project add rentals open to all ages

Mayor Suzanne LaFrance is asking the Anchorage Assembly to extend Chugiak Senior Citizens, Inc.'s lease on city land next to the Chugiak-Eagle River Senior Center so the nonprofit can build affordable rentals, including units that could eventually house tenants of any age. The Assembly holds a public hearing Tuesday, Oct. 20.

The nonprofit serves people 60 and older in Chugiak, Eagle River and Eklutna, according to the mayor's memorandum. Its current below-market ground lease, for rental housing for the elderly, ends Oct. 31 unless construction is substantially complete by then. The campus already has 42 independent apartments, 20 low-income apartments and 20 assisted-living units, according to a senior center presentation.

The ordinance would be the lease's fifth extension. The nonprofit and developer Q2 Partners LLC plan two phases of about 30 units each. The first would focus on senior housing; the second could drop the age limit. Consistent with federal tax credit rules, the memorandum envisions 80% of units for households earning 60% or less of the area's median income, with the rest at market rate.

The partners will seek federal low-income housing tax credits through the Alaska Housing Finance Corporation, which requires a lease running 50 years past construction. Because that program is competitive, the memorandum says getting the money will likely take more than one attempt.

Instead of a single completion deadline, the ordinance sets milestones, each due by the end of the year listed: financing in 2028; platting, land use approvals and a water service extension in 2030; construction start in 2032; phase one in 2034; and phase two in 2044. Missing one could end the lease. Otherwise it would run through Dec. 31, 2094.

The administration recommends approval, citing the use of uncommitted city land and the mayor's "10,000 Homes in 10 Years" strategy. Alaska News previously covered the proposed lease extension to 2094.

The parcel has been tied to senior housing for two decades. A 2007 ordinance authorized a ground lease on the parcel for elderly rental housing.

Written and phone testimony is due by 5 pm Monday, Oct. 19, according to the hearing notice.