KEDC on KMXT
KMXT invited KEDC to discuss the Storefront Improvement Program on Talk of The Rock. During the informative conversation topics ranging from the SIP matching grant program to Community Land Trust, Workforce Development, Career Expo 2024, and the Coast Guard Expansion were part of the interview.
KEDC Executive Director John Whiddon explained the origins of KEDC, giving insight to how our organization began and the projects that are current focal endeavors. He highlighted the value of the Community Land Trust and the importance it has for the workforce of Kodiak. KEDC Associate Director Melissa Schoenwether outlined the Storefront Improvement Program, what value it provides to potential businesses and the community at large, and invited businesses in Downtown Kodiak to apply or to reach out to KEDC with questions. Host Jared Griffin provided listeners the opportunity to understand the scope of what actions KEDC takes to the benefit of Kodiak’s economy.
To listen to the full conversation visit: https://kmxt.org/2023/11/talk-of-the-rock-kodiak-economic-development-corporation/
Both Whiddon and Schoenwether explain key areas KEDC is focused on during the interview. The issue of affordable housing for the Kodiak workforce was brought up and KEDC Executive Director Whiddon explained: “The number one need [as seen by KEDC] is affordable workforce housing. We have teachers, we have doctors, we have nurses, firemen, policemen, returning college students who simply cannot afford to live in Kodiak. Even if they could find a home, which is unlikely, it's not affordable. So our number one focus KDC right now is looking for solutions to the affordable housing challenge.” The conversation highlighted the scope of what KEDC supports.
Associate Director Schoenwether furthered Whiddon’s remarks, saying “KEDC is able to commit our energy towards very key strategies— we're very intentional with what our next step is, what is our next collaborative effort that we want to see? A lot of our projects have a very easy to identify synergy. The Community Land Trust is one solution for how we need to have affordable housing for our workers here. We've recently seen that the hospital built places for the people that they want to have work here. We need that. And in conjunction with that project is the Workforce Development Project: having Career Expo, Job Fairs and developing our talent that we have locally. We have amazing people here, we need to make sure that we provide an area for them to call home. And we also need to connect them with businesses that speak to the talents that they have. And so the projects that KEDC takes on have a very natural connectivity.”
KMXT Talk of The Rock host Jared Griffin asked lightheartedly: “I know that you've mentioned the Community Land Trust a couple of times, so give us the ELI5 [version] where you Explain It Like I’m 5.”
Whiddon did just that, clarifying simply: The Community Land Trust is a model used nationally—and has been used successfully in Alaska! It is simply this: a community recognizes a housing shortage. Then there is typically a partnership between a municipality, in this case, the City of Kodiak, hopefully with the Borough, if we can be successful, and the land trust is developed. It becomes an organization that acquires municipal property and then builds homes that are perpetually affordable.
And the way that happens is you take out some of the cost components— in this case, the the land costs Instead of a house that say typically sells in Kodiak for $450,000, this one might sell for $350K. And that's actually a number we're looking at, because we're able to subsidize some of the cost [through the land costs being taken out].
You can hear Whiddon give more details in the interview at the 19 minute 25 second mark in the interview.
KEDC thanks our local radio station KMXT for inviting the discussion to take place!
