This month, 50 families from the Pascua Yaqui Tribe will move into their new homes at an affordable housing development on Tucson’s west side.
The Homes at Yaqui Square is the tribe’s first master-planned community on about 40 acres of reservation land, west of Camino de Oeste and Hermans Road.
The first 50 homes are single, detached with two-, three- and four-bedroom models.
The community recently held a grand opening celebration and finishing touches are being done on the houses so residents can move in by the end of May.
“We’re proud and hope to do many more of these projects,” said Keith Gregory, director of housing for the Pascua Yaqui Tribe.
He said more than 1,000 families are on a waiting list for affordable housing.
“This is just a small drop in the bucket,” Gregory said.
The Pascua Yaqui Tribe has finished its first master planned affordable housing community on Tucson’s west side with 50 single family homes. The tribe has also broken ground on a townhome development with an apartment complex up next for tribal members. The development is called The Homes at Yaqui Square.
A 27-unit townhome complex is also under construction and expected to be complete by the end of the year.
The tribe recently broke ground on an apartment complex with 50 units and is in the predevelopment phase of a 45-unit senior apartment complex with retail and office space, all within the same development.
“At the end of the day, we’re just excited to be able to open this first phase,” Gregory said.
The project is funded by grants from the Arizona Department of Housing’s Low Income Housing Tax Credit Program, grants and the tribal council.
Residents are a mix of low and moderate income so families can work together and show children different examples, Gregory said.
To qualify for housing, tribal members must be at or below 80% of the area’s median income — about $54,700 a year for a family of four.
The homes will be rentals for the first 15 years at a rate that will depend on the household income, but no more than 30%. After 15 years, those residents can buy the home for between $25,000 and $50,000.
“Our goal is to help families have the stability to focus on other things, such as education and jobs,” Gregory said. “That all starts with a safe foundation.”
For more information about the Pascua Yaqui Tribe’s housing programs, visit pythousing.com/services.
Joe Silins used straw bale construction to build his 450-square-foot casita in midtown Tucson. The construction lasted from 2015-2016 and cost around $30,000.
Since then, he has continued to assist others in building their own homes using natural building techniques, which are becoming more popular and promote sustainability, such as using straw bales and adobe.
Straw bale houses feature walls made of straw for structuring and insulation. Those walls are then covered in a barrier that keeps moisture out and plastered. Video by Riley Brown / For the Arizona Daily Star.
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