Dusty Trails Affordable Housing is getting a new owner – and a facelift.
The nonprofit St. Vincent de Paul of Juneau and its partner GMD Development of Seattle are acquiring the Second Avenue housing complex from Marty Franz, an Idaho-based developer who built it for $2.5 million in 1992.
Starting in June, about $2 million in improvements will be made, including complete renovations of bathrooms, kitchens, and building interiors, and new flooring, said Dan Austin, general manager for St. Vincent de Paul.
Appliances will be replaced with new, energy-efficient ones, and exterior work will include landscaping, improved disability access and drainage work, Austin said in an interview. “The improvements will be significant.”
Dusty Trails offers 32 apartments in four buildings.
Austin, who also was involved in development of Haines Assisted Living and the Soboleff-McRae Veterans Village, said the switch in ownership will be noticeable to tenants. “We’d hope they’d feel the management’s improved. We’re close and we’re committed to making sure everything works for them all the time.”
He said he expects St. Vincent de Paul’s ownership will be long-term. “We’re in it forever. Thirty years from now, Dusty Trails will still be there and we’ll be delivering value to low-income people. That’s what we’re set up to do.”
Building manager Joyce del Prete said the condition of the complex is “okay” but outdated: the lighting and countertops are both original and “the sidewalks have seen better days.”
The biggest complaint, however, is “the smell,” said del Prete. “Tenants are still allowed to smoke in their rooms.” But that will likely change after the buildings undergo remodeling later this year.
St. Vincent de Paul of Juneau is set to close on the building in April. Del Prete said that the renovations were expected to be completed early next year, but “they keep finding more they want to do.”
St. Vincent de Paul also will attend to “the cosmetic side of things, which is very important to tenants,” Austin said.
Austin said the Society of St. Vincent de Paul is involved in affordable housing “because the lack of affordable housing is one of the major barriers for Southeast Alaskans to get on their feet. Our goal as an organization is to end poverty, and having an affordable place to live is part of that.”
Since construction of Dusty Trails, government programs have changed so that some affordable housing projects can be refinanced. Austin said that has allowed non-profits like St. Vincent de Paul to step in. The building’s purchase from Franz is financed by USDA Rural Development Program tax credits and private grants including from the Rasmuson Foundation.
To qualify for Dusty Trails, residents must make no more than 60 percent of the borough’s median income, which, according to Austin, generally falls between $35,000 and $50,000 annually for families up to four people. No renters pay more than 30 percent of their income on rent. The USDA’s Rural Development Program subsidizes rents.
Austin said he’s hoping the renovations can be made without having to move any tenants out of the complex. The buildings are now above 90 percent occupancy, he said.
Franz built similar public housing projects around Alaska in the early 1990s and his projects were of high quality, Austin said.