Groundbreaking for TOKA Homes #3, Black Mountain, in San Xavier District!

I had the pleasure of attending the Tohono O’odham Ki:Ki Association (TOKA) groundbreaking ceremony for its third Low Income Housing Tax Credit (LIHTC) development. Named Black Mountain, it is TOKA’s first LIHTC development in the San Xavier District of the Tohono O’odham Nation Reservation in Tucson, AZ.

Pete Delgado, executive director of TOKA, and his staff organized the wonderful event. The ceremony featured speakers from TOKA, the Tohono O’odham Nation, San Xavier District leadership, Red Stone Equity Partners (the LIHTC investor for the development), as well as members representing the offices of U.S. Rep. Martha McSally and Sen. Jeff Flake. Many community members from San Xavier and surrounding areas also attended.

There is so much planning, paperwork and coordination needed to move a development forward, and Travois is proud to be a partner in this process.

The 38-unit development is moving forward thanks to an award of LIHTCs in 2017 from the Arizona Department of Housing and a recent Capital Magnet Fund (CMF) grant from the United States Department of the Treasury’s Community Development Financial Institutions (CDFI) Fund.

In addition to new homes, the development will also build a community center, playground, barbecue area, and a basketball court, all to be located in the San Xavier District.

Kimberly Mull (pictured above), TOKA board chairwoman, spoke about how pleased she was to see the development beginning construction. “This is what I dreamed about, this is what I prayed about,” she said. “I am so glad that I see it, I see it with my eyes.”

After listening to the ideas and needs of the TOKA team and the San Xavier district community members, our Travois Design architects used the inspiration to create the designs (see below) for these homes.

Other organizations played important roles and spoke at the ceremony. Adam Hughes (pictured below) representing Martin Smith, acting director for the Indian Health Service Division of Environmental Health and Engineering said: “We know that the environmental conditions that a family lives in has a direct impact on the health of those family members,” he said. “Improved and new housing plays an important role in keeping families healthy and in turn keeping communities healthy. When communities are healthy, so many benefits are possible.”

You can view the entire ceremony here.

We are honored to help bring the vision for these homes to reality. Thank you to Pete Delgado and everyone involved for their hard work and dedication to affordable housing. We are looking forward to seeing this development come to life!

Photos courtesy of the Tohono O’odham Ki:Ki Association.