New law ties Anchorage's federal housing grant to how fast it builds

Anchorage's largest federal housing grant will rise or fall based on how fast the city adds homes, under a change taking effect in 2028. It comes from the 21st Century ROAD to Housing Act, which became law July 11 after passing the Senate 85-5 and the House 358-32.

The provision, called Build Now, directs the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development to adjust Community Development Block Grant money by a jurisdiction's housing growth. Cities that add homes faster than the median for their peers gain funding; those growing slower lose it. Anchorage gets this money by formula, about $1.8 million in block grants this year, part of $2.6 million across three HUD programs that pays for housing rehabilitation, shelter operations and neighborhood projects.

Assembly member Anna Brawley questioned what the benchmark means for a city where construction is expensive and land is limited. "Are we going to get punished for trying but not seeing the volume that we would see in Columbus, Ohio, or in a city in Texas?" she said. Supporters of the law, including the Bipartisan Policy Center, cast the adjustment as an incentive to spur building and ease housing shortages nationwide.

Anchorage recorded 341 new housing units in 2024, against 1,076 in the Matanuska-Susitna Borough. The Mayor has set a goal of 10,000 homes over the next decade, adopting a Housing Action Plan in 2023 and passing its HOME Initiative in 2024, which allows duplexes by right in every residential zone.

A policy briefer told the Anchorage Assembly Legislative Committee Thursday that HUD must tell cities their housing growth rate by September and issue guidance on how each share will be calculated, and that localities should weigh in during that process. Chief of Staff Suzanne Fleek-Green said the administration will track the rules and "fully engage with our congressional delegation," along with the American Planning Association and the National League of Cities.