JBER Anchorage $7B Expansion Plans Raise Housing Concerns: ‘Where Will Everybody Live?’

Excitement and angst are growing at Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson and its surrounding community in Anchorage, Alaska, over plans for a multibillion-dollar expansion of the military installation.

The proposed project is expected to boost the local Anchorage economy. However, several lawmakers, military staff and community members are concerned that the expansion plan is missing a major component — funding for additional housing.

“To meet JBER’s projected housing need, Anchorage would need an additional 1,200 two-bedroom units, 650 three-bedroom homes, and 645 homes with four bedrooms or more by 2030,” Joy Boston, a community partnerships and tribal liaison at JBER, told Military.com, citing data provided to the city of Anchorage.

The expansion plan calls for more than $2 billion in federal dollars to be spent on JBER base next year as part of the “Fightertown Recapitalization” project—a massive, multi-year $7 billion military infrastructure overhaul.

In a Sept. 18 budget work session with city leaders, area assembly members and JBER officials, it was projected that some 2,500 new service members and their families could relocate to an expanded JBER, with only enough on-base housing barracks and dorms to accommodate junior personnel.

Others would likely have to look off-base.

“What happens if they come here, and they can’t find a place to live?” assembly member Sydney Scout asked during the on-the-record budget work session. “We see some challenges because we have an environment where a lot of housing doesn’t pencil out financially.”

Military BAH May Not Meet Housing Costs

Scout’s remark alluded to the military’s Basic Housing Allowance (BAH) provided to service members for their living expenses.

BAH rates vary based on the member’s pay grade, dependency status and duty location, and may not cover a service member’s full housing costs compared to market rates.

In Anchorage, housing is the fastest-rising expense for both renters and homebuyers, according to a recent Anchorage Economic Development Corporation report on the city’s economic health.

For 2026, the average Anchorage home cost $481,000, representing a 42% increase over the last decade. In a separate Alaska Economic Trends report published in early September, the average monthly rent for a two-bedroom unit plus utilities topped $1,700 in the city.

Service members with families could find those rates difficult to pay, and things could become more financially cumbersome with increased demand that would not be accounted for in the BAH.

“Monthly housing stipends range from $1,700 for lower-ranking personnel with no dependents to as high as $4,161 for the highest-ranked officers with families,” Joy Boston said, citing data from JBER.

U.S. Air Force Col. Daniel Werner, commander at JBER, said in a statement to Military.com that it’s unlikely the federal government will adjust BAH rates for the base expansion.

“The Department of War annually reviews rental housing and utility costs within each military housing area and establishes rates based on location, pay grade and whether the member has dependents,” Werner said. “The rates do not increase if the number of dependents increases.

“Total housing costs are used to set the BAH rates for Uniformed Service members, both with and without dependents, for each pay grade.”

Affordability Brings Added Concern Over JBER Expansion

Meantime, further away from JBER in other Alaska communities, officials said housing affordability may also be impacted by availability.

Kodiak, Seward and Juneau are expected to see an influx of military personnel in the coming years, due to new Coast Guard icebreakers slated to come online. In addition, non-military construction workers could also add housing competition.

Assembly member Erin Baldwin Day also weighed in at Anchorage’s budget work session, expressing wariness that housing demand will price out service members relocating to JBER.

“The fact that we’re going to have that much subsidized demand in an already-stressed housing market should concern all of us,” she said. “If we’re not having those conversations and not making those moves now, we are going to find ourselves in a really challenging situation this time next year.”

According to Werner, Anchorage is seeking additional federal dollars to help pay for infrastructure that enables housing development. He added that Anchorage is also working with state lawmakers to find new funding mechanisms.

“There are no DOW dollars on the table for housing development off-base at this time,” Werner said, explaining how Military Housing Rates (HMRA) work. “The HMRA does not account for any mission growth at JBER. It is based on the mission remaining static and projecting ahead five years.”

Anchorage is scheduled to release its 2027 draft budget proposal, with possible funding for the JBER expansion, in October 2026.