We will end our Superhero spotlights with this final awardee. Tohono O’odham Ki:Ki Association (TOKA) of Sells, Arizona, was awarded the Project Team of the Year for representing what we are all striving for in Indian Country affordable housing or economic development. This team has used new ideas and courageous action to innovate in our field.
TOKA, led by executive director Pete Delgado, has worked hard to create change in their community by creating a whole new entity to manage affordable housing. They thought strategically about how to best develop affordable housing and held many public engagement meetings, developed informational brochures, and hosted countless informal sessions with potential tenants to generate excitement.
TOKA applied for and received its first Low Income Housing Tax Credit (LIHTC) award in 2014, and the team is on schedule to finish rehabilitating its units and moving everyone in this year.
The team has applied for its second LIHTC project and is awaiting an award now… and is already thinking about its third project!
Pete accepted the award, with his team standing with him on stage, and later offered a few words.
“None of this would have been possible without the efforts and dedication of the entire TOKA team, board of directors, legislative leadership and community support,” Pete said. “Additionally, we are extremely thankful for the support of the Travois team.”
We love working with Pete and his Superhero team! Congratulations on all of your hard work.
Read about other award winners here:
Week One: Sharie Benson, Yavapai-Apache Nation Tribal Housing
Week Two: Native American Bank
Week Three: Advanced Native Construction
Congratulations again to all of our awardees. Your work is an inspiration to us all and motivation to keep moving forward!