Mayor returns revised True North HUD grant for July 7 vote after community concerns

The Anchorage mayor returned to the Assembly Housing and Homeless Committee on June 17 to preview a revised grant agreement that would authorize $750,000 in Community Development Block Grant funds for True North Recovery to buy the Access Alaska building at 1217 E. 10th Avenue in Fairview. The mayor said True North changed its plan after community meetings and now proposes outpatient behavioral‑health care, administrative office space and a mobile crisis command vehicle rather than on‑site crisis or residential services.

"There will be no crisis services provided out of that facility," Mayor Lef France said, adding that True North would purchase a mobile crisis command vehicle to deliver crisis services “wherever they are needed.” The mayor said she will place a revised assembly memorandum on the July 7 assembly agenda and that a good‑neighbor agreement would be required if the assembly approves HUD funding.

Anchorage Health Department Director Kimberly Rash told the committee that HUD grants are tied to the project scope and that HUD requires tracking project deliverables for several years after close. "The use of the facility as acquired has to stay the same for at least five years up to 15 years," Rash said, describing the federal conditions that make mid‑term program changes unlikely without additional HUD approvals.

True North representatives said the organization will pair outpatient services with mobile outreach and with relationships at existing shelters to reach people where they are. Carl, a True North representative on the phone, told the committee that True North reviewed numerous properties across Anchorage before identifying the Fairview site and that the Alaska Mental Health Trust Authority has approved staffing funds for the project (the transcript record of the staffing award amount is unclear). Carl said other sources of support include existing contracts and pending state and federal applications.

Staff described the parcel as zoned PLI (public land and institutions), a designation that allows behavioral‑health uses as a by‑right use. Access Alaska would lease space back in the building to continue its durable medical equipment services under True North ownership.

Several assembly members pressed True North and municipal staff about enforceability, concentration of services in Fairview and whether the revised model is financially sustainable. True North said mobile crisis outreach has lower billable revenue than some clinical lines but that the organization has statewide billing experience and expects to integrate outpatient billing and partnerships to sustain operations.

Committee staff said next steps are a revised assembly memorandum for the July 7 meeting, with a target to execute the agreement by August and begin services in September, contingent on real‑estate timing. The committee also heard public comment both supporting peer‑led recovery investments and urging careful attention to neighborhood concerns.

If the Assembly approves the grant award, staff said a good‑neighbor agreement would be part of the municipal conditions accompanying the HUD capital contribution. The committee did not vote on the item on June 17; the mayor said she will return the matter to the full assembly for consideration on July 7.