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Photo by Eric Engman

FAIRBANKS — A lot on the corner of Ninth Avenue and Denali Way has sat vacant for years and served as a playground for generations of neighborhood children.

Mickie Rosser spent the last 35 years staring out her window, watching her children, and now a younger generation of children, play hide-and-seek, tag and other games in the overgrown grass of the lot.

But recently, there’s been concern from Rosser and her neighbors that this vacant lot is becoming a campground for the homeless, like many foreclosed and abandoned homes in downtown neighborhoods.

“I’ve seen kids playing baseball and flying kites for nearly 35 years on that old lot,” Rosser said. “And at one time, I heard a rumor that someone wanted to put a park in there.”

That was years ago, and Rosser never saw anything become of the rumor.

“So I thought it couldn’t hurt to ask,” Rosser said.

Rosser has been a neighborhood advocate through the local Weed and Seed community group. She also is the area’s Neighborhood Watch organizer.

Now, she’s working to rally her neighbors to get a senior- and child-friendly park created on the empty lot to provide a safe playground for the neighborhood.

Neighborhood children aren’t the only ones she’s looking after.

Golden Ages, a 20-unit apartment complex rests on Ninth Avenue near the vacant lot.

The complex is for elderly and disabled residents and is operated by the Alaska Housing Finance Corporation, owners of the vacant lot.

Rosser wants to see a park that is senior friendly and has been actively listening to the opinions and suggestions from the senior community.

“They’re a crucial part of this project, and it’s so important that we have a place that will meet the needs of a wide range of community members,” Rosser said in a meeting with the restoration subcommittee of the Weed and Seed group.

Rosser has been walking door to door trying to get neighbors to support the petition to create the neighborhood park.

“The idea of restoring an old lot into a neighborhood park is what the Weed and Seed is all about,” Rosser said.

The petition asks AHFC to hand the lot to the local neighborhood, the residents of which maintain the lawn and clean up garbage on the lot. The petition also would request the lot be handed to Fairbanks North Star Borough Parks and Recreation, in addition.

The petition is in brainstorming stages, but AHFC has said it is willing to hear from the community about its concerns.

The process for making such requests isn’t exactly formalized with AHFC, according to Jim Gurke, director of the Public Housing Division at AHFC.

“Certainly, if someone petitions us, we’re not going to ignore it,” Gurke said. “We would take a look at the merits of it.”

Gurke explained it is a difficult and lengthy process to let go of property because of federal regulations from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development.

Basically, the AHFC isn’t in a position to make a decision without dealing with the HUD.

“If the community were to approach us with a request, we would consider what they’re asking and weigh it in terms of why AHFC had owned that property for some time and not been able to develop additional public housing as well,” Gurke said.

Weed and Seed officer Alana Malloy also is eager to see a child- and senior-friendly park built to help cut down crime in the area.

Malloy has answered repeated calls for police service throughout the summer in surrounding vacant lots that have been foreclosed by out-of-state banks and not adequately locked up or maintained.

Malloy has offered some tips to Rosser on a potential park that would help cut back on crime and loitering, such as graffiti-resistant play equipment and armrests to keep people from sleeping on benches. She also suggested to put senior-friendly items in the park such as horseshoe pits and chess board tables.

“Any park is a good idea so long as it’s taken care of,” Malloy said.