Last week, a few Travoisians escaped cold, rainy Kansas City for sunny Camp Verde, AZ, to attend the grand opening of the Yavapai-Apache Homes #5 community building. The Yavapai-Apache Nation Tribal Housing (YANTH) received an award of Low Income Housing Tax Credits from the Arizona Department of Housing (ADOH) in 2015 for the Yavapai-Apache Homes #5 development.
(Pictured above: Jeanne Redondo, ADOH; Alexandria Murnan, Travois; Crystal Banks-Mann, Travois Asset Management; Sharie Benson, YANTH executive director; and Adam Teefey, Travois Design)
The development included the new construction of 38 units, a mix of triplexes, duplexes, and single-family detached homes, and a new community building.
The Yavapai-Apache Homes #5 community building provides an exciting, new communal space in the Tunlii subdivision on the Yavapai-Apache Reservation. Our Travois Design team, including Architect Adam Teefey who attended the event, were proud to work with YANTH to design a space that would meet its community’s needs.
The community building is over 14,000 square feet and includes a fitness center, an after-school educational space, a large community room, a community kitchen, and several office and storage spaces. The community room is large enough to house community events and trainings. The community building incorporates large windows in the fitness center and community room to highlight the expansive views of the mountains of the Verde Valley.
The new community building will provide crucial supportive services for the Yavapai-Apache Homes #5 residents. These services include before/after-school educational assistance, computer training, job training, and financial literacy classes. The community building also has an office for an on-site supportive service coordinator who will meet with residents to connect them with supportive services in the community.
Many community members attended the grand opening celebration. Past Tribal Chairman Thomas Beauty and current Tribal Chairwoman Jane Russell-Winiecki both spoke about the importance of the community building to the Yavapai-Apache Nation. They both dreamed that one day the nation would have affordable housing and a community building for community members to enjoy. Chairwoman Russell-Winiecki raised her fists in the air and exclaimed “We did it!”.
(Pictured above: Tribal Chairwoman Jane Russell-Winiecki and Past Tribal Chairman Thomas Beauty)
While we were at the grand opening, we also saw the progress made on the Yavapai-Apache Homes #6 development. It’s also located within the Tunlii subdivision and is under construction, building 35 more housing units and a large park.
Congratulations to the Yavapai-Apache Nation on the grand opening of Yavapai-Apache Homes #5 project, and we look forward to joining you for the grand opening of project #6!