Construction on schedule for new Pascua Yaqui affordable housing projects

TUCSON, Ariz. -- (KGUN) — Six months have passed since the Pascua Yaqui Tribe Housing Department took KGUN 9 on a tour of the project site that will soon become affordable housing neighborhoods for tribe members.

With a schedule to meet, contractors and crews have made noticeable progress on the first phases of construction: single-family homes, followed by a cluster of town houses.

Beyond the short-term outlook of these projects, tribe housing director Keith Gregory says the community will soon see another design come to life — one that will tower over all other structures.

Down a yet-to-be-named gravel road, Gregory pointed past the pile of pebbles to the spot where a multi-story apartment complex will take shape, along with a building designed for offices and businesses.

While specific information is limited, the Pascua Yaqui Tribe said it plans to maximize an Arizona Department of Housing grant of $2.5 million in tax credits per year for 10 years.

This sum will make up part of the investment in the apartments, which will come in 2, 3, and 4—bedroom units.

For Gregory, continued support from the tribe's council and many families has represented a shift in how the community can now think about the concept of affordable housing.

"A lot of times, we think about affordable housing as the least exciting housing, right?" Gregory said.
"It's basic, it's a box we're trying to do — I won't say cheaply, but affordable so that we can charge lower rents. I think that's a mistake. I think that you can do amazing things if you're willing to do the work."

Progress on the first two projects has not been perfectly smooth, Gregory said. If a supply door for a specific building material is closed, it would make sense to tackle all the other items on the list to get the homes ready for move-in day.

"Right now we're running into a concrete issue," he said. "We would love for somebody to call us and say, 'We got a bunch of concrete,' but it's not how it works. We do more exteriors, we do stonework. We do painting. We do the other things that you can do to work around that," Gregory said.

That adaptability, Gregory said, has kept contractors on track to be done with roughly 50 homes by year's end. Pandemic challenges have, to some degree, also played a factor, but Gregory pointed out the construction market in Arizona has been competitive for years.

As for the homes' design philosophy, nothing has changed. The guiding principle still leans more toward modern and energy efficient. "Something... that tribal members could really feel comfortable in and proud of" Pascua Yaqui deputy housing director Rolando Jaimez said on our first visit in January, "(They can) say: 'We have one of the nicest houses in Tucson.'"

Throughout the design and building process, Gregory said he and his team has not just gotten recommendations, but also positive feedback from tribal elders and many of the thousands of members on a waiting list to move into newer affordable housing.

In KGUN 9's original reporting, we learned state tax credit regulations will allow Pascua Yaqui families to pay a reduced rate to own the homes they move into, once they live in them and pay rent for a certain number of years.

Gregory said another part of the investment is an agreement with contractors. The companies have hired dozens of workers from tribal communities, so they can also feel proud in knowing their labor is making a direct difference.