‘Low-cost, low-barrier recovery program right here in Anchorage’
Screenshot from Anchorage Daily News website on Dec. 10, 2025.
More than 30 individuals experiencing homelessness soon will be able to get off the streets and into a new treatment-focused project sponsored by the Municipality of Anchorage.
The project, Microunits for Recovery Residences, will feature 32 microunits, each with a bed, microwave and mini fridge for temporary living. There will be a community gathering space, offices, bathrooms and showers.
A community health provider to operate the Recovery Residences will be announced soon, and the project should open early in 2026, Thea Agnew Bemben, a special assistant to Mayor Suzanne LaFrance, told an Anchorage Assembly committee. Participants are expected to stay 6-12 months, then transition to permanent housing. The Anchorage Community Development Authority is overseeing construction by local builder Visser Construction and will manage maintenance of the site.
The mayor described the project as a “low-cost, low-barrier recovery program right here in Anchorage. This is a model that can be replicated by others to create even more pathways to stability in our community."
The microunits “provide dignity, stability, and a pathway to long-term recovery — and importantly, this entire project is funded without using any taxpayer dollars,” said Mike Robbins, executive director of the development authority.
The Municipality of Anchorage is using Opioid Settlement Funds and a grant from Bloomberg Philanthropies for the project. Through the Bloomberg Cities Idea Exchange, a Municipal team visited a similar project in Atlanta early in 2025.
Recent news coverage of the project:
Anchorage Daily News, Dec. 10, 2025
Alaska’s News Source, Dec. 4, 2025
Alaska Business Monthly, Oct. 7, 2025
Alaska Public Media, Aug. 1, 2025