Aug. 12—High-end garage condos where some Alaskans store boats, RVs and other toys are booming in Anchorage.
But they're not just for personal use anymore. Small businesses are increasingly moving in, helping drive demand, developers say.
Three projects are going up around the city. At one, the most expensive of the units cost more than $500,000, pricier than an average single-family home.
The condos feature large bay doors for big rigs, bathrooms and mezzanine floors for offices or hanging out. And while they're not permitted for residential living, some come with showers and washing machines and dryers.
"We can't build them fast enough," said Andre Spinelli, who's constructing 45 garage-condo units near Lake Otis Parkway and Tudor Road.
More than half the units at The Garage at Lake Otis are already under contract to be sold, said Spinelli of Spinell Homes, a large homebuilder.
The development won't even open until later in the year.
"As soon as you build them, they're sold out," he said. "And as soon as you sell out, people want to be put on the list for the next project."
Prices 'through the roof'
Garage condos aren't new in Anchorage, said Dave Whitfield, manager of the Current Planning Division for the municipality.
But they're now being built at an unusually fast clip, he said.
Alaska has the right conditions for them, he said. That includes months of snowy weather and people with gear to protect.
"Alaskans are always looking for additional storage," Whitfield said. "And not just additional storage in terms of space, but space that's out of the elements."
The market has changed to better support businesses, he said.
Spinelli is marketing the new units as a potential "man-cave or she-shed."
But some of his new units will be able to serve as storefronts for small businesses, such as a kayak rental company, he said.
Others businesses could use them for storage or office space, like a handyman who can house equipment and do some prep work indoors, he said.
"Garage condos were originally branded as storage for toys," Spinelli said. "And a lot of people still use them that way. But we've seen a lot of other demand as well, from companies using them, like auto detailers or a window company."
Some of the Lake Otis units will have bay doors on both sides, a new amenity to potentially support a business with multiple trucks, he said. Those units, 60 feet long and 30 feet wide, will cost more than $500,000. The smallest units, less than 800 square feet, will sell for more than $200,000, he said.
The Spinelli family has built a few other garage condo developments in Anchorage over the last two decades, he said. Two originally fell under the GarageTown USA brand that also has locations around the country. The complexes now fall under the AK Garages company that the Spinelli family co-owns.
Mike Senko said he bought three garage condos eight years ago in what at the time was a new GarageTown off East 79th Avenue near Lake Otis Parkway. The units are essentially the headquarters for his family's growing business, Arctic Glass.
Senko's father, 80, who founded Arctic Glass decades ago, also has his own unit next door. It's for personal use. Bud Senko stores his RV there and other materials, like the items for expectant mothers and babies he picks up as a volunteer for the Community Pregnancy Center.
"He calls it the 'Dawg House,'" since he's a Cleveland Browns fan, Mike Senko said.
Senko said it's better for Arctic Glass to have its office and storage in the garage condos, versus paying several thousand dollars monthly for a long-term commercial lease.
Arctic Glass doesn't get the free advertising of having a roadside storefront. But he owns his units and can sell them if he wants.
The condos have risen quickly in value, he said. He paid about $230,000 for his two largest ones in 2016. They're now worth at least $380,000, he said.
He's put a couple of units on the market in the past. They sold in days, he said.
"The people who thought I was crazy when I first bought them are saying, 'Hey, Mike, lemme know when one is for sale,' " he said.
Cleaning up Midtown
Dentist Guy Burk plans to build a small garage-condo complex on a block near Midtown Dental and other businesses he owns. The mostly empty lot, off Cheechako Street between Northern Lights and Benson boulevards, is an eyesore, he said.
People illegally use it as a dumping ground for old furniture and appliances, forcing him to dispose of the items.
It's also home to a crumbling building he recently purchased and will soon tear down. The 1960s-era turquoise building at 600 W. Northern Lights Blvd. appears to have formerly been a massage studio, he said. Squatters keep breaking into the building, he said. They've sawed through plywood or dropped through a hole in the roof, leaving behind drug-use debris, like strips of charred tin foil and leftover needles, he said.
The plan for his Midtown Garage Condos calls for building seven units on part of the lot. The project will improve the area, he said.
"I mean, this is the heart of the city and it looks like a Third World country," he said.
He plans to make the units more attractive and higher-end than other garage-condo projects in town, he said. They will come with large lofts for offices or lounge space, bathrooms and showers, and nice siding and landscaping, he said.
They'll run between 1,000 and 1,300 square feet, and cost $400,000 and more, he said.
Small businesses can operate out of the units in addition to storing their gear or keeping an office on a mezzanine floor, he said.
Burk said he's already spent about $400,000 on engineering studies and other work to move the plan forward, he said. The project has been slowed and sometimes threatened by what he described as the municipality's cumbersome code and zoning requirements.
But he's hoping to get the condos built by next summer, he said.
"It will look a lot nicer there than it does now," he said of the lot. "My fate is tied to this place."
Guy said he decided to build garage condos when he needed a place to store the amphibious tundra rigs he leases out to oil companies at one of the businesses he owns.
He couldn't find the storage space, so he decided to build his own, he said. He'll keep one of the units for himself.
Renee Burk, owner of Alcan Realty, is helping market the condos for her son.
"We're getting calls right and left, and we just put the sign up," she said.
'Huge shortage' of garage space
Ryan Cropper, who formerly owned Able Body Shop, is building 32 garage condominiums off the Seward Highway in South Anchorage.
About half will be rented out, and about half will be for sale, Cropper said. The units are expected to begin opening around the end of summer.
The Able Garage Condos are at 7840 Homer Drive, site of the former Able Raceway go-kart track.
A 1,400-square-foot unit with an office loft is selling for about $350,000. Smaller units are selling for about $325,000. They'll come with heated floors and showers.
Cropper bought the go-kart track about five years ago, but it could only operate in dry weather in summer. So he closed it.
He decided to build garage condos after thinking of all the times customers asked to use his garage to repair their equipment in winter.
Some units are already under contract to be bought and leased, he said.
"There's just a huge shortage in Anchorage for anyone who wants garage-type space," he said.
