Mayor’s office, cosponsors preview 15–25 year multifamily tax-abatement to spur rental housing

A proposed multifamily property-tax abatement ordinance designed to spur new rental housing in Anchorage was presented to the Anchorage Community and Economic Development Committee on March 6, 2025, by Nolan Clowdine of the mayor’s office. The ordinance would provide a baseline 15-year abatement for new multifamily rental buildings of eight or more units, with bonus years available for projects in targeted areas, that meet labor or affordability criteria, up to a 25-year maximum.

The proposal matters because Anchorage and the administration estimate the city needs roughly 1,000 new or renovated rental units per year to narrow the housing gap; developers and the administration said market fundamentals often make multifamily projects financially unviable without public incentives. Nolan Clowdine, policy director in the mayor’s office, described the abatement as intended to “make financial sense to a developer” by increasing project cash flow while leaving land on the tax rolls. He said the ordinance will be introduced March 18 and that a public hearing is planned for April 8.

Under the ordinance presented: the abatement would apply only…