Horseshoe Bend resort still seeks funding, has no construction start date, Deschene says
Navajo Times | Krista Allen
Sunlight breaks through clouds over canyon walls near the Horseshoe Bend outside Page, Ariz., Oct. 17. Horseshoe Bend Holdings LLC plans to build a resort on nearby Navajo Nation land in LeChee.
By Donovan Quintero and Krista Allen
Navajo Times
PAGE, Ariz.
Developers of a proposed resort near the Horseshoe Bend were still raising money for infrastructure and had no construction start date as of Oct. 27, according to project attorney Christopher Clark Deschene, now the Navajo Nation vice president-elect.
Deschene said surveys, studies and other pre-development work remained unfinished for the project, which President Buu Nygren’s staff described as a $700 million development at its September 2024 ceremonial groundbreaking.
“Long answer, we’re still raising the capital for it,” Deschene said.
Navajo Times | Krista Allen
The Colorado River curves around a sandstone formation at Horseshoe Bend near Page, Ariz. Horseshoe Bend Holdings LLC is still raising money for infrastructure at its proposed resort nearby, project attorney Christopher C. Deschene said Oct. 27.
In an interview, Deschene said advancing the resort project was not his reason for becoming Speaker Crystalyne Curley’s running mate.
“No! No, absolutely not! I have my career. I’ve been helping on projects in Indian Country and Horseshoe Bend is one of the projects that I’ve been working on,” he said. “But no, I’m running because our Nation needs to secure its future. Our Nation needs to find solutions to complex problems.”
Nygren’s staff identified Deschene as developer Otis Manson’s partner in an October 2024 announcement. Staff with ETD Inc., the project’s environmental consultant, identified him as its lead attorney. Neither account specified an ownership share.
Manson did not return a call from the Navajo Times requesting an interview.
Nygren signed the business site lease for Horseshoe Bend Holdings LLC Sept. 27, 2024, during an event that included the ceremonial groundbreaking near the proposed site. His staff described a development on more than 421 acres overlooking Horseshoe Bend and the Colorado River.
Manson described a 300-room resort with conference space, a restaurant, hiking and horseback trails and a Diné cultural facility. He anticipated construction beginning in about 18 months, placing that target in spring 2026. The lease enabled the developers to seek investors.
Nygren offered a different forecast in his Jan. 14, 2025, State of the Navajo Nation report. He described an $800 million project, with construction expected to begin that year and full development by 2029.
Nygren said his team was working with investors and described completed feasibility studies, business planning, site plans and architectural work. He also said additional studies, clearances and lease negotiations could take a few years to complete.
Nygren’s staff projected about 1,000 construction jobs, 3,000 jobs when the development became fully operational and $14 million annually in lease revenue and taxes for the Navajo Nation.
Navajo Times | Krista Allen
Visitors walk to and from Horseshoe Bend near Page, Ariz., where National Park Service officials recorded more than 831,000 visits in 2024. Horseshoe Bend Holdings LLC plans to build a resort nearby in LeChee on Navajo Nation land.
Asked when construction would begin, Deschene said developers were still completing the work needed to support investment.
“We don’t know. There’s a lot of things that are happening on the market,” he said. “But the pre-development work, the surveys––all the studies that will support basically investment are still being addressed. So there are still a lot of work that needs to be done.”
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