Mountain View gets financial services housing: Credit Union 1 Cook Inlet Housing Authority build up anchorage neighborhood.

• Author: West, Gail
• Position: SPECIAL SECTION: BUILDING ALASKA

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Been to Mountain View lately? Big changes are afoot in one of t Anchorage's pioneer neighborhoods, bringing with them savings accounts, upgraded housing, new paint and flowers--all of which are good for business. And business is blooming for Credit Union 1.

"Mountain View has been on our radar screen for about three years," said Leslie Ellis, president of Credit Union 1. "There's a tremendous need for financial services in this neighborhood and this credit union has a full range of services to offer.

HELPING THE NEIGHBORHOOD

Opening this branch in June--bringing the total number of branches in Anchorage to eight and across the state to 15--was not altogether an act of community service, Ellis said, although that was certainly a consideration.

"Since we opened, our new accounts have exceeded our expectations," Ellis said. "They're running parallel to some of our busiest branches, and the loan side is doing the same. This branch is coming up to speed faster than we thought it would."

Ellis acknowledged that establishing a branch in this neighborhood had its detractors.

"Some said it was dangerous; we'd be robbed," she said. "But we get robbed in all our locations. People said our building would be trashed, but this is the first branch opening I've attended that not a piece of landscaping was touched. It looks the same today as it did when we opened.

"I think the people of Mountain View don't want to let us down, and I believe they'll self-police for us. Besides, Mountain View isn't the sole keeper of all the problems in the city."

For the people who live in the neighborhood, the opening of the new Credit Union 1 branch was an opportunity to pull their life savings from under their mattresses and tuck it safely away in an interest-earning account.

AFFORDABLE HOUSING

For those seeking attractive housing that's affordable to a budget-minded family, Cook Inlet Housing Authority has built and is still building homes and condominiums to fill that need.

The feel of the community is changing, and property values are beginning to rise as the neighborhood changes.

Michael Droege, incoming president for the Anchorage Board of Realtors and a Realtor for Prudential Jack White Vista Real Estate, runs property value numbers regularly. For Mountain View, Droege said the average home price in 2010 is higher than it's been over the past 12-, 24- and 36-month periods. He also said the inventory of homes for sale in Mountain View is down...