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About Smoke signals. (Grand Ronde, Or.) 19??-current | View Entire Issue (Jan. 15, 2003)
4 JANUARY 15, 2003 Smoke Signals Residential Community Taking Shape, Coming To Tribal housing community should be ready by summer. By PetaTinda Tribal members will soon have a new place to call home. The Grand Ronde Tribe's new resi dential community, now under con struction, is expected to be complete by the end of June 2003. It is being built using federal dollars provided by United States Department of Housing and Urban Development. The project also employs many Tribal members. "There's always been a great need for family housing in Indian Country," said Linda Layden, the Tribe's Hous ing Director. "And it's been a long time in coming. So it's great to be able to meet that need." Because it is meant for moderate income families, a resident's rent will not exceed 30 percent of their income. The community is located in Grand Ronde, tucked behind a row of trees on Grand Ronde Road. It will have wide, well-lit streets with nice views of the surrounding hills. Every effort was made to make the units as durable and efficient as pos sible. "Everything in there meets or ex ceeds all building codes," said Layden. It will be made up of 36 units, mostly duplexes, grouped around a cov ered central meeting place with a fire pit and toddler playground. The houses range in size from one bedroom to five bedrooms, with the majority being two and three bedrooms. Each one has it's own fenced back yard and carport. In addition, all of the houses have individual deck patios with roofs. All will be equipped with new wash ers, dryers, dishwashers, ranges and refrigerators. Also included nearby is a large community playground and several wooded, park-like areas for pic nicking. Handicapped accessibility was de signed into the entire complex. The houses are one story, eliminating the need for steps. The doorways are at least 36 inches wide. Two of the units are completely handicapped equipped with handrails and lowered counters. Many bike and footpaths through out will connect the residents to each other. The houses are designed to be en ergy efficient, with gas heat and double pane widows. They also have radiant floor heating, where hot water from the water heater is circulated through a continuous tube embedded in the concrete. Since the system uses fresh water, it increases the amount of hot water available to the residents by sev eral times. It is also saves energy and makes the floor nice and warm. To ease the burden on the munici pal water supply, all of the rainwater that falls on the complex is collected and stored in an adjacent 90,000-gal-lon underground tank. It is then used for landscaping and irrigation. The project was planned from the outset to provide a sense of commu nity and security for the residents. "The way it was designed, with lots of lights, pathways, and parks," said Layden. "Is so that people and their kids can use it in a good way." 5- V vr'n i . V, ,J ' " MA i. M. X f . . & Taking Shape Winter rains have not slowed progress on the Tribe's new 36-unit family housing community in Grand Ronde. The homes will range in size from one bedroom up to five bedrooms and come equipped with new appliances, double pane windows and radi ant floor heating. The new housing community is expected to be complete by this summer. ! I PI HI fnr-i ra - ; 1 H - ' o I'll ! ; : f "tt'Ffin -'. w -?:H T tLJl ;;,; I hi i ii ll minimi i n i in i ni iMmii i i tmi m ml n i mi I i mi mi I as.- A Like New Stacks of lumber have been turned into homes by the Tribe's Housing Authority construction crews. Each home will have a covered patio area that will look out onto a central meeting place complete with playgrounds and footpaths that will add to the resident's sense of community. mi ii to , .. ' 'u ii r rm rvii-viJMk i ff . t . - - vvwrPy'tfc Pil ijtfj! t ' L--f '"T" . - m . sX,f , - - -I I M r " i i' r ya T I X7';i"ilJU:-te - .';ui New Housing Authority Moves Into Bigger, Better Offices .. ''ml . . jpft"-. . .... . , . , ""...". :'":-. r By PetaTinda The Grand Ronde Tribal Housing Authority moved to a new location in late November. They are now located in a new building across the street from their old offices. The new build ing is much larger, approximately 5,400 square feet, to suit the growing needs of the Housing Program. It was built with a Federal Housing and Ur ban Development grant, at a cost of $825,000. "Everybody really likes the new building and we look forward to really getting some good use out of it. We had people doubling up in our old of fices," said Linda Layden, Tribal Hous ing Director. "We'll be able to better serve our clients and Tribal members with this building." With the recent expansion of hous ing programs, the new building comes at just the right time. The new building features a large meeting room in the center. There are 11 offices for employees, as well as 3 small conference rooms for private meetings with clients and contractors. There is a large fully equipped copy and mailing room. The parking lot is large and well lit. The floors are stained con crete, to make it easier to clean up af ter muddy contractors. There is a large kitchen, which will be helpful during housing board meetings. The entire building is handicapped accessible. With the new 36-unit family hous ing complex being constructed next door, the new housing building is very conveniently located. "We've come a long way. Eight years ago we were a small home improve ment program with two employees," said Layden. "Now we have a new building, lots of grants and programs and we're providing a lot of good hous ing for Tribal members. It's nice to have the space to continue to do our work."
