The Ounalashka Corporation is hoping to rezone Lot 24 for residential use. Credit: City of Unalaska

The Ounalashka Corporation is getting ready to start construction on a new apartment complex. The 8-unit building is one of the largest housing project undertaken in Unalaska in recent years, and it may be the beginning of many more.

The proposed site for the apartment building is on Biorka Drive, in a warehouse that Ounalaskha Corporation CEO Rick Miller says hasn’t been getting much use recently.

“[We're] basically [going to] strip the interior, I mean we're going to hopefully use the exterior framing, rafters, roof, stuff like that, but everything else is going to be replaced, new.”

The plan is to refit the interior with four 3-bedroom units and four 1-bedroom units. Miller says OC is currently in negotiations with a contractor to do the work, and is hoping to have a deal soon. He wouldn’t disclose how much the building is expected to cost before the contract is finalized, but he did note it’s not going to be cheap.

“One thing we are discovering is that it is expensive to construct, design and build here in Unalaska,” Miller says.

In addition to getting the contracting details ironed out, OC needs the city council to rezone the property.

“This is a city zoning map -- the pink is commercial, it’s now zoned commercial, and we’re asking for it to be rezoned to multi-family,” Miller says.

The council will take their second and final vote on the rezoning at a meeting next week. The first vote was unanimously in favor.

Although the only concrete plan is to build the 8-plex, Miller says if the property is rezoned, that will allow for potential future development as well.

“Unalaska clearly has a housing shortage, and we feel that we should... that we can try to see if it can be done," Miller says." If we can help and be a part of solving that problem. We’re also investigating that area, I guess I would say uphill from the lake, for the possibility of doing multi-unit development there.”

But Miller says there are no definitive plans for that work at this point. He adds that despite rumors, there are also no concrete plans for OC to build a hotel in the near future, although he did concede that it has been discussed.

“I couldn't put timelines, I couldn’t name people, I couldn’t you know, put a place, I couldn’t tell you how big, how much or any of that stuff. I could just say 'yes' there has been discussion," Miller says. "We commissioned a feasibility study that indicated it was needed. We’ve talked to a number of people and continue to talk to a number of people.”

OC is the largest landowner in Unalaska, and currently rents out several multi- and single-family units on Standard Oil Hill.