buildable land, but stuck

Anchorage has dozens of buildable lots that nobody can touch.

More than two dozen spots across the city are basically ready for housing but completely frozen. We're talking real places: Powder Ridge, the old Regal Totem site, a former Carrs-Safeway on Gambell Street, and a big Midtown parcel called the Archive.

The problem is underground. These sites need sewer line extensions, road upgrades, and street lighting before anything gets built. And under Alaska law, utilities can't pay for that, because they can only serve current customers, not future ones.

That puts the full cost on developers, and for affordable or middle-income housing, the math doesn't work. The Anchorage Assembly voted unanimously on March 26 to ask the state for $30 million to fix exactly that.

Oil prices are up from global conflict and Alaska could see close to a billion dollars in unexpected revenue this year. The Assembly sees it as a one-time shot to unlock housing for decades.

If the state says yes, Anchorage starts building.