It’s a sunny, windy day in Sitka, as a concrete truck pulls into the Sitka Community Land Trust’s lot on Halibut Point Road and starts to pour grey concrete into a 25 by 34 foot foundation.

Contractors are breaking ground on three duplex apartment buildings that, once completed, will be rented to Sitkans at below-market rates. The six units in the works are part of the S’us’ Héeni Sháak cottage neighborhood, a land trust community where Sitkans can purchase a house, but not the land beneath the house, which saves substantial money for the buyer. The project is part of a decades-long push for affordable housing in Sitka — which, like many communities throughout Southeast Alaska, has struggled to keep up with housing demands, particularly during the busy summer season which sees an influx of both workers and visitors.

“We’re able to provide these homes, as we envision, to young families and first time home buyers entirely,” says Randy Hughey, executive director of the Sitka Community Land Trust, which bought this and from the City of Sitka in 2015 for one dollar.