The City of Kenai will put 11 pieces of city land up for sale following city council approval of a public auction Wednesday night. The city hopes the parcels will be used for residential development, but won’t require that as a condition of sale.
Bids will start at the Kenai Peninsula Borough’s assessed value of the land. Buyers will be required to put 15% down. Veterans are eligible for a 25% discount on the final price.
During Wednesday’s city council meeting, Kenai City Manager Terry Eubank said the parcels were chosen because of suitable development conditions. All are accessible by road and can either directly access city utility lines or are big enough to support onsite water and sewer.
“When we went through the city's land management plan, all 11 of these properties have been tagged and approved for disposal at the time the plan was adopted,” Eubank said.
Ten of the parcels are scattered throughout Kenai. More than half are between Wildwood Drive and First Street. One is near Scout Lake Loop Road in Sterling.
It’s been 17 years since Kenai last held a land auction. Eubank said some of the same parcels up for bid this year were up for bid then, too. Now, though, he says there’s demand for “buildable lots.”
Council member Alex Douthit thinks bidders will pay more for the properties than the minimum being proposed by the city.
“So yeah, no I'm glad we're moving forward,” he said. “I think by timing it to be middle October that's right with PFDs so maybe people have a little extra money in their pockets and they can increase those bids a little bit. So, I think it's good timing, too.”
It’s been about two years since Kenai City Council members approved a comprehensive inventory of the city’s land.
There’s no set date for the auction yet, although the city’s eyeing mid-October. It will be offered in person and streamed live. Eubank said the city’s still waiting for quotes from auction companies interested in running the sale. They’ve budgeted $27,250 for the contract.
The Kenai Peninsula Borough is holding a similar land auction Oct. 5.
