Board upholds $3.25 million assessment for Riverpointe affordable housing over owner’s appeal

The Fairbanks North Star Borough Board of Equalization voted 4-1 on May 9 to uphold the borough’s 2025 full-and-true valuation of Riverpointe (also called Riverpointe Village) at $3,252,565, rejecting an appeal from the property owner.

The decision preserves the assessor’s 2025 roll value of $142,517 for land and $3,110,048 for improvements for the multifamily complex identified in the record as Riverpoint LLC (case 95). The appeal was presented to the board by the property owner, identified in the meeting notice as Roland Powell, who asked the board to reconsider the assessment.

The board’s chair opened the appeal by noting procedural rules and sworn testimony requirements for Board of Equalization hearings under Fairbanks North Star Borough code. The owner described purchasing the 26-unit affordable housing property in 2020 and presented an appraisal and alternate valuations tied to inflation adjustments.

“The property makes sense to operate the way we do,” the appellant said, explaining the property is operated with reduced overhead by the current owner and that rents are set by the low-income program. The assessor’s appraiser, Matt Casort, testified that…