In addition to warmer weather and more sunshine, the arrival of spring also heats up our travel schedules for industry conferences and events.
This week, CDE Manager Michael Bland, CFO Brett Schwarz and I attended the 11th Annual Tribal Casino & Hotel Development Conference, hosted by Native Nation Events (NNE) at the Pechanga Resort Casino. After recently joining NNE’s Advisory Board, I’ve enjoyed connecting with tribal developers at several of these conferences.
On Tuesday, Michael presented a panel entitled “Flexible Financing: Using New Markets Tax Credits for Indian Country Hospitality Development.” He was joined by Little Fawn Boland, partner with Cieba Legal; and Elijah Baca, CEO of Santa Clara Development Corporation, and the group discussed development examples, including the Santa Claran Hotel. New Markets Tax Credits cannot be used to finance casinos; but hotels like the Santa Claran are excellent examples of how they can be used to support hospitality goals.
Thank you to everyone who stopped by our booth and shared their stories. It is always interesting to hear from tribal leaders about new development ideas and opportunities. It is also fascinating how many of the conversations circle back to community development and housing.
The three of us (and the rest of the Travois team!) will all be back in California soon for the 18th Annual Travois Affordable Housing & Economic Development Conference.
Find Travois representatives at upcoming industry events later this spring:
- NAFOA, April 23-24 in New Orleans
- AMERIND/NAIHC Convention, May 30-June 1 in San Diego
- NCAI Mid-Year Conference, June 3-6 in Kansas City
- NNE Housing & Economic Development Conference, June 4-5 in Anaheim
If you have a development idea that you’d like to discuss, use our quick website form to let us know how we can help.