Lots in Juneau’s newest neighborhood Pederson Hill will go on sale today, according to City and Borough of Juneau Lands Manager Greg Chaney.
The lots will be sold either by lottery or a sealed competitive bid process, and the actual sales won’t take place until December. But submissions for both the lottery and the sealed bid will begin being accepted today.
Chaney wasn’t able to give an exact time submissions would start being accepted, he told the Empire by phone Wednesday, but it would be during business hours.
The 17 lots available will be sold in three different ways. The first six lots, which were appraised at values ranging from $135,000 to $148,000, will be sold via a lottery on Dec. 10. People can submit their information to purchase a lot and the names will be drawn at random.
The first name drawn will have the first pick of the available lots, and that process will continue until no lots are left. Alternate names will be drawn as well in case the primary buyer decides not to go through with the sale.
Remaining lots will be sold in a sealed competitive bid on Dec. 17. Six of those lots will be sold as a block. Each lot in the block has been appraised at $128,000 for a total of $768,000.
The remaining five lots will be sold individually at prices ranging from $120,000 to $148,000. Potential buyers will have 30 days from the date of sale to pay at least 10 percent of the lot’s value or decline the sale.
If not all the lots are sold, the City Manager’s office will look at other options for selling the lots, Chaney said.
The Pederson Hill development was the city’s first foray into land development. Roads and infrastructure for plumbing and electricity have already been built. City officials hope that by providing the infrastructure and designating smaller sized lots, the prices of the homes eventually built there would be more affordable.
Lots must be sold at fair market value however, and when the city had them appraised last month the values were higher than the city had hoped. The city had hoped the lots would be valued at roughly $80,000 but the cheapest lot was appraised at $120,000.
Once the lots are sold, however, the city has no control over what kinds of homes are built on the land. At the ribbon cutting ceremony on Sept. 6, Mayor Beth Weldon said a lot of people were interested in building on the land.
Information, including brochures for the various lots will be available on the Lands and Resources page of the city’s website. Hard copies of the brochures and submission forms can be obtained in person from the Lands office at City Hall.
Chaney said anyone with questions can call the Lands office at 586-5252 for more information.
• Contact reporter Peter Segall at 523-2228 or psegall@juneauempire.com.
