The Juneau Assembly will vote Monday night on whether to approve $2.3 million worth of city funding to support five proposed affordable housing projects.
The money comes from the city’s Affordable Housing Fund. The city created the fund five years ago to address its housing shortage — specifically, the lack of low- and middle-income rentals. Since then, the city has awarded nearly $13 million in grants or loans from the fund. This round, $2.5 million is available.
The city uses criteria like proximity to public transportation and long-term affordability to decide which projects get funding and how much. The projects proposed this year would help create more than 40 units of housing, comprising both single-family homes and apartment complexes, all across the borough.
The city uses a formula based on Juneau’s income data to determine eligibility for affordable housing programs. People qualify as “low-income” if their household or individual income is at or below 80% of the Area Median Income. In Juneau in 2025, 80% AMI for a single person is $72,080 and $102,960 for a four-person household.
The Tlingit Haida Regional Housing Authority is up for two grants. One is for $800,000 to help fund the construction of 16 single-family homes in the Pederson Hill subdivision. The other grant is for $250,000 to help pay for building five single-family homes on North Douglas.
Another applicant, Dave D’Amato with Brave Enterprises, LLC, is up for a $900,000 loan to help fund the renovation of the shuttered Bergmann Hotel in downtown Juneau. The project would turn the historic 46-room hotel into an 18-unit apartment complex.
Shawn Kantola with Southeast Endeavors, LLC, is asking for a $200,000 loan to construct a fourplex on Lee Street in Auke Bay. And the Society of St. Vincent de Paul requested a $150,00 grant to help pay for long-term maintenance of its Teal Street facilities.
Juneau residents have the chance to testify on ordinances on Monday’s agenda – as well as on non-agenda items – in person or online before the Assembly votes. People who want to testify online must notify the city clerk by 4 p.m. before the meeting. The meeting begins at 6 p.m. at City Hall.
