Housing Needs Assessment and Strategic Planning: Overview and Purpose

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Denali Borough is facing a range of housing challenges including limited supply, seasonal workforce fluctuations, aging infrastructure, and barriers to development readiness. These issues are widespread, affecting communities across the borough such as Anderson, Healy, McKinley Village, Cantwell, and several smaller unincorporated communities and subdivisions. Although the borough benefits from significant land assets and a strong sense of place, persistent constraints (such as infrastructure gaps, land and title complexities, high construction costs, and workforce shortages) continue to hinder housing development and undermine long-term community stability.

In response, Denali Borough proactively engaged MHP for technical assistance to better understand these challenges and identify practical, community-aligned solutions. With support from HUD’s Rural Capacity Building grant, MHP is providing targeted assistance that includes a comprehensive Housing Needs Assessment, tailored community engagement strategies, and feasibility support for priority housing initiatives. These efforts aim to move the borough from problem identification toward actionable strategies that enhance housing stability and long-term resilience.

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The community survey on housing and economic development priorities is open through May 2026.

This survey is part of two planning efforts the Denali Borough is undertaking simultaneously and your responses will inform both.

Click here to learn more and take the survey today!

 

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Project Update – Spring 2026

The Denali Borough Housing Needs Assessment is currently in the data collection and community engagement phase.

Since February 2026, the project team has been:

• Launching and promoting a community-wide housing survey
• Conducting stakeholder interviews with community members, employers, and housing stakeholders
• Gathering and analyzing baseline housing and economic data

 

Upcoming Community Meetings (May 18–21, 2026 | 5:30–7:00 PM each evening)
The project team will be visiting the Borough to host open house-style community meetings in the following locations:

• Healy (May 18)
• McKinley Village (May 19)
• Cantwell (May 20)
• Anderson (May 21)

These meetings will focus on identifying current housing needs, exploring future priorities, and discussing tradeoffs related to housing development in the Borough. Community members are encouraged to attend and share their perspectives.

 

What’s Next
Input gathered through the survey, stakeholder interviews, and community meetings will inform the Housing Needs Assessment findings and begin to shape future priorities for the Borough’s housing strategic action plan. These findings will be shared with the broader community in Fall 2026.

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