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."
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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.
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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.
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New Housing Authority Moves Into Bigger, Better Offices
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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."