On day one of a multi-home construction project in Seward, about half a dozen future home owners, like Jane Belovaric, learned how to use a power saw.
Belovaric works at the Alaska SeaLife Center and has rented homes in Seward for nearly two decades. But she hasn’t had the best luck with landlords. She’s had to move on short notice three times.
“You're always under the worry that your landlord is going to sell,” Belovaric said.
Those days will soon be over for Belovaric. Over the next year, she’ll build a three-bedroom home through a program with the statewide nonprofit Rural Alaska Community Action Program.
RurAL CAP, which celebrated its 100th home build on the Kenai Peninsula earlier this year, is building 10 homes in Seward through what it calls its “mutual self-help” initiative. The way it works is that Belovaric will be responsible for about two-thirds of the home build’s overall labor. In exchange, she won’t have to make a down payment.
“There's no way I would have been able to ever afford a place on my own without this program,” Belovaric said.
Homes in the region have gotten more expensive, and there are fewer of them to buy. The issue is made worse by a shortage of rental units – only about 5% of them were available last year. That means groups like RurAL CAP and municipal governments are stepping in to expand affordable housing options on the Kenai Peninsula.
Take the regional nonprofit Kenai Peninsula Housing Initiatives. In the early 2000s, the organization built its first set of rental apartments in Homer. The nonprofit now has 150 apartment units for low-income families and seniors in five communities, from Ninilchik to Seward. And they’re building more, including six rental units in Homer that are almost finished.
The City of Kenai recently donated 10 acres to the organization to build even more affordable housing.
“One of the consistent messages that we heard when people are trying to move here is the difficulty in finding long-term rentals, and even housing,” said Kenai City Manager Terry Eubank. “The City of Kenai has got a pretty extensive inventory of land, and we're working hard to try to get that land into use.”
The city recently held its first land auction in over a decade, selling off 11 parcels of land to buyers. And it’s reviewing zoning codes and permitting requirements to make building homes easier.
Other city governments are making similar moves to increase housing development.
Seward’s development reimbursement program will cover half the cost of connecting a home to city utilities. The city also raised building height limits, citing the need for more apartments in a place that’s notoriously struggled with affordable housing.
“There's a longer return on investment for apartments,” said Seward’s Director of Community Development Daniel Meuninck.
He said the city’s new height limit could make the difference between building a three-story or a four story apartment building.
“If you don't have that extra incentive, people are more incentivized to build hotels versus apartments,” Meuninck said. “And right now, in Seward, apartment complexes are kind of that missing middle housing piece that we don't have, that we're hearing that people are looking for.”
The Kenai Peninsula Borough has also worked to address affordable housing.
It recently greenlit a program that would reduce the cost of borough land to buyers who develop it. The borough also bought a swath of land in Seward intended for high-end residential development.
Kenai Peninsula Borough Mayor Peter Micciche said some people might look at that as not enough because not everyone will be able to afford those types of homes.
“That's true, but it frees up another piece of property that may be more affordable,” Micciche said.
Back at the construction site in Seward, Jane Belovaric said building a house is a daunting task. But she’s mostly excited for the home she’s always dreamed of for her and her pets.
“I also have an affinity for senior pets or for animals that might have a little difficulty, and so being able to create a safe space for them is really important to me,” she said.
Belovaric said living here will be coming full-circle. She used to walk her dogs through the woods of her future neighborhood.
