Millions of dollars are on the way toward four affordable housing projects after the City and Borough of Juneau Assembly approved $2 million in funding during the Monday night Assembly meeting, though there will still be multiple procedural steps that need to be taken before boots hit the ground, according to City Manager Rorie Watt.<\/p>\n
“Any housing project has a lot of steps before they become a reality, there are always more steps involved than you think,” Watt said.<\/p>\n
The money will go toward four affordable housing developments<\/a> and comes from the CBJ Juneau Affordable Housing Fund which is in its second round of funding and goes toward supporting for-profit and nonprofit organizations, public and regional housing authorities and tribal governments to create affordable and workforce housing in Juneau.<\/p>\n The four projects set to receive funding are:<\/p>\n — AWARE is set to receive a $200,000 grant for its Cordova Street project to fund the development of seven single-room occupancy apartments.<\/p>\n — Rooftop Properties LLC is set to receive a $1.2 million loan to fund the development of 24 units of mixed-income housing<\/a> on a 20-acre lot at 7400 Glacier Highway, a part of its larger Ridgeview project that currently proposes building up to 444 apartments.<\/p>\n — St. Vincent de Paul, is set to receive $100,000 of grant funding to go toward deferred maintenance of its Teal Street shelter.<\/p>\n — Tlingit and Haida Regional Housing Authority<\/a> set to receive a $500,000 grant to go toward its Kowee Phase 1 New Housing Construction, which would build 10 two-to four-bedroom homes located near Sayéik: Gastineau Community School and Harborview Elementary School.<\/p>\n The grants and loans are awarded $50,000 per affordable or workforce housing unit created and of the seven local entities that applied, four were chosen by the CBJ Lands, Housing and Economic Development Committee in late November to move to the Assembly for approval of the funding awards. <\/p>\n AWARE’s grant helps to defray unexpectedly high costs for its seven single-room occupancy apartment development, which was originally purchased in 2020, and construction broke ground in September of this year.<\/p>\n However, according to Many Cole, the executive director of AWARE, the construction guaranteed maximum price estimate came in at nearly $600,000 more than estimated just for construction — excluding purchase and design costs — and clocked in at around $1.71 million compared to the original estimate of $900,000.<\/p>\n According to Cole, AWARE is working to lower the GMP, and the $298,896 — which AWARE asked for in funding — would cover roughly half of the unexpected rise in cost, however, only $200,000 was approved.<\/p>\n “This was the highest-ranking project based on team experience, committed funds, leveraging percentage, and the likelihood of development within the year,” Joseph Meyers, CBJ housing and land use specialist, stated in the memo.<\/p>\n