A path to more affordable homes in Ketchikan cleared an early hurdle Friday, as a local resident signed over an undeveloped acre of land to the area’s new community land trust.
Steve Sheldt said he acquired the property in a state lottery system in the early 1980’s and thinks he paid about $1,200 for it. He tried to figure out ways to develop the 0.97 acre plot in the Mountain Point subdivision over the years, but it never came together. So he decided to donate it to the Ketchikan Community Land Trust instead.
“For 40 years, I’ve been paying taxes on it, and I can’t get anywhere. And I’m retired now in my 80s, and so I don’t know that I’m going to live long enough to try to develop it,” Sheldt said with a laugh.
Sheldt will get a nice tax write off for the donation — the land was recently valued at $16,000. But he said he also appreciates what the land trust is doing, and would be happy to see something built on the property.
Deborah Hayden is the president of the organization, which aims to acquire land, build homes and sell those homes to low to moderate income buyers. The land trust retains the land, so the buyer only has to pay for the value of the house itself, bringing down the overall cost.
“It’s going to be affordable housing for people who desperately need it, people who could never afford a house can get into a home,” Hayden said.
The organization took inspiration from a similar model that has seen success in Sitka.
The plot of land has a long way to go to becoming buildable land. It’s adjacent to a residential road, but doesn’t have its own access road or sewer, water, and power. But Hayden has already spoken with the local electric utility and says that development is “very doable” and something that could be grant-funded.
