6/23/2006 4:00:00 AM Chuska Apartments -- soon a reality in Gallup
By Sanjay Choudhrie Special to the Observer
Care 66 is delighted to announce that the Supportive Housing Coalition of New Mexico, our developer, has been awarded an Affordable Housing Tax Credit Grant for approximately $6.5 million to develop low-income housing in Gallup, N.M. CARE 66 is the local partner for the of Supportive Housing Coalition New Mexico.
The project will be the first of its kind in Gallup ----and perhaps ----the state, combining transitional housing for homeless families and affordable housing. Ten of the 30 two- and three-bedroom units will be set aside for transitional housing for homeless families with children, and the remaining units will house families at or below 60 percent of the area median income in Gallup. Initially approved as Phoenix Apartments, the project is now called Chuska Apartments.
The project is modeled after the award-winning model for supportive housing pioneered by the Colorado Coalition for the Homeless. Two primary benefits of this model are: 1) homeless families live in a community of working families who serve as role models; and 2) service expenses for the transitional units will be partially subsidized by higher rents from the other units.
The project addresses two essential housing needs in Gallup: affordable rental housing for low-income working families and transitional housing for homeless families. The median income for a family of four in McKinley County, $31,700, is the second lowest income in the state, and amounts to only 69 percent of the state's average.
Nineteen percent of families and 23.7 percent of individuals in Gallup live below the federal poverty level, and 40 percent of the population is Native American (according to the US Census Bureau). The need for affordable housing continues to grow, especially for low-income, working families.
The proposed design includes one-story residential buildings, with 15 two-bedroom and 15 three-bedroom apartments. The units have enclosed rear patios or front yards. Individual units have varying setbacks, offering more privacy and interesting site layouts.
The design also incorporates numerous "green building" design elements and architects, Mazria Odems and Dzurec of Santa Fe, N.M., specialize in projects that benefit the environment.
Green features include day lighting in all rooms, passive solar space heating, and rooftop water heating (for domestic hot water and baseboard heating), which will result in a 40 to 50 percent reduction in overall utility costs. Rooftop water will be collected in a cistern for landscape irrigation.
Healthy, low toxicity materials are used throughout. Development also includes a large community center providing a sizable common space for tenant gatherings and for community service providers to use when providing on-site social services.
We would like to thank the following for making this project possible. Representatives Patricia Lundstrom and Irvin Harrison, Senator's Lydio Rainaldi, Leonard Tsosie and John Pinto; McKinley County Commissioners, Ernest Becenti, David Dallago, Billy Moore, and County Manager Tom Trujillo; Gallup City Council Members and particularly Mayor Rosebrough. We are grateful for the wisdom we have received the Chamber of Commerce
We would also like to thank the Daniels Fund and the South West Indian Foundation for believing in us when we were just an idea. We are very grateful to the growing number of Friends of CARE 66 who continue to support our work with money and time. Finally, none of this would have been possible without the guidance of Hank Hughes at the New Mexico Coalition to End Homelessness.
CARE 66 is a local community development housing organization. Our clients are homeless people. We provide transitional housing, case management, support services and referrals to our clients to help them break out of homelessness.
We are dedicated to addressing homelessness by creating opportunities for those who suffer this misfortune and work with them to address the root causes of homelessness, which are poverty and the lack of affordable housing.
Anyone wanting know more about what CARE 66 does is welcome to call 505-722-0066 or attend a volunteer orientation session. We would be glad to come and speak to your group about our work.
Thank you Gallup!
(Sanjay Choudhrie is Executive Director of Care 66, which is based in Gallup, N.M.)
