Tribe gets federal funds for housing

A $3.5 million grant from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) will provide funds for the Colville Indian Housing Authority to start work on its Lovejoy housing project in the Omak District, Executive Director Elena L. Bassett said.

Bassett said the project will provide 20 single-family homes and probably be completed and occupied in 2014, at a cost of $4-5 million. She said a community center might be added if additional funding becomes available.

Last year the Indian Housing Authority completed a 27-unit project called Buttercup Lanes in Inchelium, a $7 million project. Bassett said all units in that development are filled and the project is running smoothly.

Already, Bassett said, plans are beginning for a similar project in the future in Keller.

The Colville Tribes is one of 25 tribes in the state of Washington receiving grants totaling over $33 million from HUD. Overall, nationally, the federal government announced grants to qualifying Indian tribes totaling $404 million.

Projects include “affordable housing, infrastructure upgrades, community centers and safety programs,” said HUD Secretary Shaun Donovan. The grants permit the tribes to do special projects as well as provide maintenance and operation funding.

Bassett said the first part of the Omak District project will be to put in sidewalks and water service infrastructure and then continue the project when future funds come in.