Five members of the Kwanlin Dün First Nation will be purchasing new homes on Macaulay Road in the McIntyre subdivision later this year after the First Nation announced a lottery for the purchase of the two-bedroom single detached houses.
The lottery was announced by the First Nation April 29. It is open to all Kwanlin Dün citizens and beneficiaries aged 19 years and over who are looking to be first-time home owners.
Each of the houses is priced at $263,000, an amount aimed at making it affordable while also covering development costs. The First Nation will provide to each lottery winner, a $6,575 grant that can be used towards the down payment or purchase price of the house.
The lottery opens June 8 and closes July 13 at 4 p.m. Along with the lottery application, all applicants need to complete a Kwanlin Dün Citizen Statutory Declaration form and submit a $500 deposit. The lottery will be held July 27.
The five homes built by the First Nation in 2019 and 2020 are at 3, 10, 12 and 14 Macaulay Road as well as 1 Wylie Crescent, which sits at the corner of Macaulay Road. Each of the two-bedroom houses are 753-square feet and feature an open concept kitchen, dining and living area as well as one bathroom.
The Macaulay Road lottery follows the First Nation’s Porter Creek land lottery in 2021 where the First Nation issued its first 125-year residential leases on settlement land to five citizens.
A total of 30 KDFN citizens and beneficiaries entered the Porter Creek lottery with Kailen Gingell, Bruce Campbell, Shirley Dawson, Doronn Fox and Kaiden McIntyre having their names drawn for the lots.
Each has signed a lease and building agreement with KDFN, committing to build a house on the lot within three years.
If the land is not built on in three years, the lease holder could be deemed in default and the agreement could be legally terminated or new terms could be negotiated, such as an extension to the building timelines. Each situation would be dealt with on a case-by-case basis, KDFN spokesperson Leighann Chalykoff said.
The First Nation emphasized the importance of creating opportunities for home ownership.
“Creating homeownership opportunities for KDFN people on settlement land is an important step forward in our journey to self-determination and realizing the vision of our final and self-government agreements,” KDFN councillor Jesse Ryder said in a statement. “Supporting people to own their own homes is one way we’re building a strong and stable future for Kwanlin Dün families.”
The forms to enter the lottery are available on the KDFN website.
Contact Stephanie Waddell at stephanie.waddell@yukon-news.com