Developers See Bri
i
In Alaska Despite I
By Ward T. Sims
Associated Press Staff Writer
JUNEAU UD — Real estate men,
•bankers and developers, see a
bright future ahead in Alaska
despite inflated land prices
brought on by the glitter of State
hood and oil.
Despite her great size, Alaska
is land poor. Of the state’s 365
million acres, approximately 300
million acres are under the con
trol of the Bureau of Land Man
agement.
Still more land is controlled by
the military and the U. S. Forest
Service has the final say over
thousands of additional acres, in
cluding most of the Southeast
Alaska Panhandle.
The Nome area and the South
west Panhandle were not ma
terially affected by the land boom
following Statehood and the dis
covery of oil.
Nome has a permafrost prob
lem which has kept a tight lid
on residential and commercial
construction and land prices do
the same in the Panhandle.
In the Juneau area only recent
ly, for instance, a 21-acre tract of
timber and brush land five miles
from the city was sold for more
than $800 an acre. Add clearing
costs to that and the tract be
comes an expensive piece of real
estate.
Anchorage, the mushrooming
population center of Alaska and
gateway to the oil-rich Kenai
Peninsula, was the focal point of
a land boom touched off by State
hood and perpetrated by petro
leum fever.
Land Prices Shot Up Sharply
Land prices shot up sharply in
Anchorage at the outset of State
hood and they have remained
high. During the 15-year period
between 1944 and 1961, while An
chorage’s population was sky
rocketing from 3,500 to 85,000,
the price tag on an acre of un
developed land was marked up
from $50 to $1,000.
“I can honestly say that I don’t
think the big speculation splurge
after Statehood was a good thing,”
comments Walter J. Hickel, an
ARCITC OIL
DELIVERY
— AUTOMATIC SERVICE —
Si ce
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oflit Future Ahead
n
nflated Land Prices
| Anchorage and Fairbanks hotel
j operator.
“Of course, we were glad to see
^ it, but it did inflate prices for
a while.
“Some of this land was bought
by foreign interests and will
probably not be developed quick
ly, because the owners do not
have a personal interest in it at
the present time.”
Hickel foresees future increases
in land values in the Anchorage
area, but steadily, not in spurts.
The one big problem facing the
Alaskan builder, or the develop
er, in nickel’s view, is the lack
of long-term capital.
“Financing has been a terrific
problem. There is a definite need
for apartment space in Anchor
age and there is some in the
planning stage now.
“The apartments are being
planned locally, but it is eastern
mortgage money that is involved
in the financing. The problem in
Alaska all along has been long
term mortgage money, even on
an insured mortgage basis.”
In Fairbanks, Ralph C. Bailey,
executive vice president of the
Alaska National Bank of Fair
banks, said land prices have
jumped 65 per cent during the 15
years he has been in the area.
Prices Somewhat Inflated
“Prices are somewhat inflated
at the present time,” Bailey said,
“But I think we’ll go back to the
old rule of supply and demand.
The supply is great. The demand
will be dependent on the econ
omy of the Fairbanks area.”
Bailey said 35 new homes in
the $18,000-$22,000 class were
constructed in the Fairbanks area
last year and 17 remained unsold
at the end of 1960.
Residential building costs range
from $26 to $34 a square foot, de
pending on what type of construc
tion and how elaborate a home
the owner wants. Unimproved
residential property within Fair
banks which sold for $700 a lot
in 1945 new sells for $2,500.
Glenn A. Willacy, owner of a
Fairbanks real estate firm, said
; that after several spurts and set
backs prior to 1955, land prices
in the area have embarked on a
“slow, steady climb.”
Since Statehood, Willacy said,
a feeling of security has become
more and more apparent among
the residents of Fairbanks.
“During the years prior to
Statehood,” Willacy said, “many
people talked of returning event
ually to their original homes in
the South 48.
“Now there is the feeling that
Alaska is a state and a part of the
union of states and this has had
a definite effect on the confidence
of the people here and on out
side financing.”
It was W. Somerset Maugham
who observed, “It’s a funny thing
about life—if you refuse to accept
anything but the best you very
often get it.”
PAINTING
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^ ~ vVf® >, Auto Painting
☆ ☆ ☆
AL INGMAN - MAIN 318
Research Teams to Survey
Types of Weapons Needed
To Com'iat Guerrillas
WASHINGTON UP> — U. S. mili
tary research teams are spreading
out through the terrorist-infested
regions in Southeast Asia and the
Middle-East to learn first hand
what kind of weapons are need
ed to combat Communist guer
rillas.
The survey could drastically
change the types of equipment
the United States is supplying its
friends who are fighting the shad
owy bands in the jungles and hill
country unsuited to conventional
weapons.
The research and development
teams will talk with native anti
guerrilla fighters to learn from
their experiences. They will also
confer with members of U. S
military advisory groups already
on the scene.
Brazil Will Stand Side
By Side With U.S. In
Opposing Communism
RIO DE JANEIRO, Brazil tfV
Adlai Stevenson said today he
feels President Janio Quadros is
fully conscious of the Communist
menace to the Americas and that
Brazil will stand side by side with
the United States in opposing its
spread.
The special representative of
President Kennedy said this is
the conclusion he reached after
meeting Quadros Sunday and dis
cussing common problems, in
cluding the Communist foothold
in Cuba.
Stevenson spoke at a news con
ference before leaving for Asun
cion, Paraguay, in his 18-day tour
of South America.
Sign on door of a home hous
ing several children: “Neighbor
hood children! Please don’t knock.
(We’re eating, resting or busy.
Come back when this sign is
| down. Thanks. The management.”
MIDNIGHT SUN
F E S T I V A L
Wednesday, June 21 through Sunday, June 25
COSTUMES — POSITIVELY
WEDNESDAY NIGHT
7:00 p.m.—Broadwalk Promenade
8:00 p.m.—Eskimo Games
10:00 p.m.—Street Dance
11:00 p.m.—Midnight Sun Flight
1:00 a.m.—Midnight Sun Flight
(C-47 plane and fare will be approximately from $5 to $8)
THURSDAY AFTERNOON
Arts and Crafts Show—National Guard Armory
8:00 p.m.—Eskimo Games
10:00 p.m.—Street Dance
FRIDAY AFTERNOON
Arts and Crafts Show—National Guard Armory
1:00 p.m.—Pied Piper Parade
2:00 p.m.—Mothers Club Baby Show
7:00 p.m.—Eskimo Dances
SATURDAY AFTERNOON
Arts and Crafts Show—National Guard Armory
3:00 p.m.—Boat Races in Bering Sea
6:00 p.m.—Eskimo Dances
8:00 p.m.—Queen Pageant and Coronation Ball
SUNDAY MORNING—Church of Your Choice
Afternoon—Jaycee Raft Race Starting at Dexter
Arts and Crafts Show—National Guard Armory
6:00 p.m.—Finals in Eskimo Dances
* KANGAROO COURT ANY TIME
if REINDEER BARBECUE
★ COSTUMES ALL THE TIME
i Miners & Merchants Bank of Alaska
THE FRIENDLY BANK
FULL BANKING SERVICES
To Northwestern Alaska Since 190*
! j — BRANCH OFFICE IN KOTZEBUE — j
GOING HUNTING: This marsh buggy, one of
nine loaded fo the Alaska S.S. Co. steamship
Nenana in Seattle will soon be rolling over
Western Alaska muskeg in search of oil.
Valued at about $7,000 each, these vehicles are
part of a $225,000 shipment of exploration
equipment ihat Western Geophysical Co. is
sending to Bristol Bay. With it a crew of about
30 men will explore a 476,824 acre Nushagak
Bay tract under the Pure Oil Co. development
contract with the Interior Department according
to V.S. Balderson, division geophysicist of Pure
Oil's Alcan producing division. The contract
calls for an expenditure of $1,175,000 in ex
ploration and drilling by January 1, 1962.