Hopi housing opens 40 new units in Winslow
Navajo Times | Cindy Yurth Owa-Ki-Tsoki, the Hopi Tribal Housing Authority’s new development in Winslow, consists of 40 units along a winding street.
Navajo Times | Cindy Yurth
Owa-Ki-Tsoki, the Hopi Tribal Housing Authority’s new development in Winslow, consists of 40 units along a winding street.
WINSLOW, Ariz.
As with Navajo, building on the Hopi Reservation is difficult because different families and clans have ties to just about every square inch of land.
So for its new, Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design-certified housing project, the Hopi Tribe bought land on the outskirts of Winslow — a town close enough that people could go back to their home villages for ceremonies, and urban enough to offer jobs and higher education that is lacking on the rez.
Navajo Times | Cindy Yurth
New tenant Shana Koyiyumptewa, right, expresses her delight with the new units during a walk-through Tuesday.
“This is a historic moment for us,” beamed Wes Corben, executive director of the Hopi Tribal Housing Authority, after snipping the ribbon on the 40-unit development off Kiva Drive. “It’s been a long time since the Hopis have done a project.”
The units, ranging in size from one to five bedrooms, are stuccoed in earthy tones to match the surrounding desert landscape. They are light-filled and airy, with high ceilings, and equipped with Energy Star appliances.
The new neighborhood, dubbed Owa-Ki-Tsoki (Stone House Hill), also has a few self-contained recreational options: a playground for the children, a basketball court for teens and a graveled walking/jogging path for adults.
Best of all is the price, based on a family’s income and number of children. For a qualifying family, a one-bedroom would start at about $350.
Corben said there were some obstacles — mostly legal ones to do with the lease and rights-of-way for the utilities — but “my staff pushed through,” Corben said. “I’m feeling proud of them.”
Corben also credited the Hopi Tribal Council, which supported the project “every step of the way,” and former HTHA director Chester Carl, who got the ball rolling before he left.
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Highway 264,
I-40, WB @ Winslow