bugwatch.info

Market Wire, October, 2009

Nine rural communities have been selected to
receive grant funds next year under Alaska Housing Finance Corporation’s
Teacher, Health Professional & Public Safety Professional housing program.

After a competitive review process, applications approved for new
construction are for teacher housing in Mountain Village (eight units),
Unalaska (six units), Koyuk (two units), Teller (four units), Napaskiak
(eight units), and Huslia (two units). Approved for rehabilitation of
existing housing units are Tanana (two units) and Noatak (four units).

All the units are for teachers, except for Unalaska, which includes housing
for health professionals and public safety professionals.

About $9 million is being awarded and is expected to leverage approximately
$12 million in loans, matching funds, and other contributions. This is
expected to produce housing valued at just under $21 million.

All nine of the communities selected have an urgent need for teacher
housing. For instance, in Tanana where there are six teachers, there are
only two rental housing units currently available. The proposed project
will rehab two older vacant units that were damaged by fire.

In Teller, currently there are 10 teachers but very few rental units
available. The approved project will build four new housing units, provide
training in skilled labor, and employ local labor on the project. Koyuk
faces a similar problem, but with 11 teachers in the school system.

“This program was initiated in response to a request from school districts
that were reporting difficulty in attracting teachers to their
communities,” according to Dan Fauske, AHFC CEO/Executive Director. “They
identified the lack of available housing as a major impediment to
recruiting and retaining good teachers.”

AHFC only funds housing proposals that demonstrate community support.
Fauske said, “Part of the application process requires an applicant to
present evidence of local support, like a resolution from the school board
or a community planning determination that identifies housing for teachers
as a local priority.”

The teacher housing program was initiated in 2004 and later expanded to
include health care and public safety professionals. In five short years,
the program has made substantial progress in improving the quality and
availability of professional housing in rural Alaska. School districts that
had been experiencing fifty percent turnover rates now report near zero
turnover rates.

To date, AHFC’s professional housing program has funded the rehabilitation
and new construction of 305 units gastric bypass surgery cost of housing in 55 rural communities and
produced housing valued at $92 million.

AHFC is a self-supporting public corporation with offices in 16 communities
statewide