Kenai Peninsula residents will get their first opportunity to buy borough land using a new discount this summer. That’s when the Kenai Peninsula Borough is holding its next land sale. The sale will debut a new Land Affordability Program, authorized by borough assembly members last month.
Land is available in Cooper Landing, Sterling, Nikiski, Anchor Point and Hope, among other places. More than 40 pieces of land will go up for auction. Five of those are eligible for the Land Affordability Program.
The program is an effort to make it easier for peninsula residents to buy land. Under the guidelines, the borough will knock off a quarter of the successful bid amount. The buyer will be eligible for a special borough financing agreement after putting down 10% of the price.
Buyers only get those perks, though, if they develop the land they buy. Under the program, that means putting a home on a permanent foundation on the property. Buyers can also get a professional appraisal that says a structure on the land meets program requirements.
The borough’s Land Affordability Program is only open to borough residents, or people who demonstrate they plan to immediately become borough residents.
This year’s public outcry auction is scheduled for Aug. 9 at Soldotna High School. Any land not sold will roll forward to an online auction in October.
