a parking lot for 10 acres

The Anchorage Community Development Authority is proposing a land swap between the Municipality of Anchorage and the State of Alaska. Under the deal, the city would give up the Tozier Track parcel, nearly 10 acres south of Tudor Road that once hosted the Alaskan Sled Dog and Racing Association and now sits mostly empty aside from two dilapidated buildings. In return, the city would take Block 102, four adjoining parcels totaling 1.6 acres along Ninth Avenue between D and E streets in downtown Anchorage, land currently used as a parking lot.

The appraisals explain why the smaller downtown parcel is part of the trade at all. Tozier Track was appraised at $4.13 million, while Block 102, less than a fifth the size, was appraised at $5.24 million, reflecting the higher value of developable downtown land.

The swap comes with conditions aimed at housing affordability. At least 70 percent of Block 102 must be built as residential housing, at a minimum density of eight dwellings per acre, targeted at households earning between 80 and 120 percent of area median income, a range often called missing middle housing. That income band typically covers teachers, nurses and tradespeople who earn too much for subsidized housing but struggle to afford market-rate downtown units.

The Anchorage Assembly is expected to vote on the proposal later in September. If approved, the land trade could proceed in October. ACDA director Mike Robbins said the vote marks an early step. "This is the beginning of the process, not the end," he said.