The developer who wants to buy land from the borough to build rental housing behind the old hospital commissioned a design firm to produce illustrations of what the fourplexes could look like.
Borough assembly members voted without objection to sell six lots totaling 1.3 acres behind the old hospital building to a Wasilla developer who wants to build 16 rental units on the property.
The sale will include the requirement that the developer construct the housing units within three years.
In addition, the property will need to be rezoned for multi-family residential - which will require public hearings - and the developer will need to submit detailed plans to the borough before any construction could begin.
The development plans will need to include a complete site layout, building and on-site parking designs; and utility connections and stormwater management plans (which are the developer's financial responsibility).
The developer, Jiaying Lu, applied this spring to purchase the borough-owned vacant lots, which were last appraised at $316,000. She wants to build four fourplexes on the property.
Her land-purchase application did not include a site plan, building size or other details, though she later submitted architectural drawings from a Wasilla design firm, showing a couple of possible exterior designs of the buildings.
The assembly approved the sale at its May 13 meeting. Borough Manager Mason Villarma told the assembly that the lots will be reappraised to determine their current fair-market value.
According to Wrangell's municipal code, a land purchaser who fails to meet a construction deadline imposed on a property sale could be required to return the property to the borough and forfeit 25% of their purchase price. Final terms of the deal with Lu remain to be negotiated, Villarma said.
The planning and zoning commission on April 10 unanimously recommended approval of the sale.
Three members of the public testified at the May 13 assembly meeting, questioning or opposing the sale.
Two members of the public - Bernie Massin and Kelly Decker - told assembly members that the borough should go to bid on the property rather than sell them to the first applicant. Borough code allows both options: Taking bids or selling at the appraised value.
Lu, who worked as a nurse in Wrangell several years ago, said in an interview last month that she has experience with managing rental property in Alaska.
"Wrangell definitely is in need of affordable, modern housing," said Lu's partner, Levi Miller, who also used to live in Wrangell. Miller spoke via Zoom at the assembly meeting.
The plan is to build the fourplexes on the four lots farthest from Evergreen Elementary School, then use the two lots across the roadway from the school to store maintenance equipment, he said.
The borough has been trying to sell the old hospital building since SEARHC moved out in 2021 and has no plans to use the six vacant lots behind the building.
"We can keep dreaming," Economic Development Director Kate Thomas said of hopes to sell everything, or the borough can act on the opportunity to sell the six lots. "This is the first step," she told the assembly.
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