Apartment ribbon cutting June 1

Continued from Page 1A difficult for tribal members to actually live on the reservation – because of fractionation, high land prices, or construction barriers – we are tearing down those barriers.”

A housing study conducted in 2017 identified a 20-year need of 349 homes, with the vast majority needed now. Through the Comprehensive Plan, Housing Strategy Plan, Capital Improvements plan and Board Priorities, the BOT and greater community identified housing projects as a key area of focus.

“This is the beginning of a new chapter for the CTUIR in creating affordable home sites.’ going up.

These two projects, and others coming down the line, will provide residential opportunities for tribal members, as well as employees of Wildhorse Resort & Casino, CTUIR government, and Yellowhawk Tribal Health Center, Luke said. The apartments could be used as a recruitment tool for wouldbe Yellowhawk doctors, some of whom – over the years – have been unable to find housing on the Umatilla Indian Reservation.

“These housing projects have been a long time in development and the CTUIR is making great strides in creating a broader range of housing available for working professionals in a livable and walkable neighborhood,” Tovey said.

“It’s an exciting time for CTUIR as there are rentals and home opportunities for low-to-moderate income individuals who establish credit. Our economy needs this. There are plenty of job opportunities on the Reservation and people need places to live,” Luke said.

The neighborhood also boasts 16 Neighborhood Services lots that can be used for a full range of future community facilities, such as apartments, assisted living, small neighborhood commercial, or office space.

Timíne Way North Apartments

- 30 units available in June 2023

- Quality, durable construction

- Handicap-accessible units available

- Studio apartments 421 square feet

- one-bedroom units 864 square feet

- two-bedroom units 1,085 square feet;

- Rental charge will include utilities

- electricity, water/sewer, modem/ internet, washer/dryer.

The Housing Strategy Team then carried these multifaceted projects through completion despite floods and a multiyear pandemic. These two projects add 80 units toward that goal - the largest increase in home sites and units in many years.

- J.D. Tovey II CTUIR Planning Department Director

“This is a long time coming; it’s great the CTUIR is creating a market,” said Marcus Luke, CTUIR Housing Department director.

As the tribal economy has grown, so has the individual wealth of tribal members. Individuals in the marketrate home range is a population that is rarely heard, yet exhibits the greatest need for homes and home sites.

Luke noted that over the years the Housing Department has had to deny some applicants because their incomes exceeded HUD limits.

Timíne Way North Apartments, across from Nixyaawii Community School, to the west of the Nixyaawii Governance Center, are expected to be complete before the end of May. This project provides 30 high quality and energy efficient apartments ranging from studios to two bedrooms that are just below market rate and not under HUD guidelines.

Creating this market is not just the creation of home sites or apartments, but more fundamentally was the creation of government systems and access to financing to allow for the ability for individual tribal members to experience the full benefits of home ownership.

Nixyáawii Neighborhood is complete and provides infrastructure for 50 residential home sites available for 99-year lease for tribal members to build their own home. About a dozen leases have been secured, and those individuals are preparing to construct in the next couple of years.

It won’t be long, Luke said, before homes with 30-year mortgages will be

These governmental systems included the adoption of the Land Leasing Code, and the 99-year lease instrument, and internal controls to manage those land transactions. The access to financing is being facilitated by the creation of the Nixyáawii Community Financial Services (NCFS) homeownership program.

Interested persons can call the CTUIR Housing Department and leave their name, phone number, e-mail address and any other pertinent information. 541-429-7920

Office of Legal Counsel and Office of Executive Director, and with the BOT for final basic policy approval including application process.

Not only will these systems make homeownership a reality, but it also benefits the community through secondary economic development, small business development, increase in jobs available, and community activities – further strengthening our sovereignty and resilience, Tovey said.

The Housing Strategy Team is a subcommittee of the Tribes’ Capital Improvement’s Committee which guides large construction projects. The Team included representatives from CTUIR departments – Economic and Community Development, Housing, Planning, Finance, Cultural Resources, and Public Works.

The Housing team also works with the CTUIR Housing Commission,

“After this development,” Luke said, “the development team is back to the drawing board for a needs assessment for elder and veterans housing before we circle back to low-income as well.”

For more information on Nixyáawii Neighborhood, visit the website at www. nixyaawii.com and for more information on the Timíne Way North Apartments contact the Housing Department at 541-429-7920.

Also, see the advertisement in this edition of the CUJ for the Community Celebration and Ribbon Cutting events, which will include guided tours, vendors, activities for the kids, and much more.