The project allows Nixyáawii Community Financial Services to reduce barriers tribal members face in becoming homeowners on the Umatilla Indian Reservation.

MISSION – Nixyáawii Community Financial Services (NCFS) officials and key partners broke ground on four homes for Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla Indian Reservation (CTUIR) members on Feb. 25 at the Nixyáawii Neighborhood.

The ceremony not only broke ground but was groundbreaking as it is the first CTUIR housing project focused on homeownership, said NCFS Homeownership Service Manager Pamela Ranslam.

“Tribal members will have the opportunity to purchase the homes we’re building,” she said. “Though the funding comes from the State of Oregon through Oregon Housing and Community Services (OHCS), an allowance has been made regarding affordability. The funding for tribal communities does not include income guidelines, allowing NCFS to help all tribal members.”  

The groundbreaking was held on Nixyáawii Neighborhood’s Lot 32 near the park. After a prayer by Board of Trustees (BOT) Treasurer Raymond Huesties, NCFS officials thanked key partners:

• OHCS, which earmarked funds for tribes in Oregon and eliminated income guidelines and affordability tracking that other Oregon projects must follow; 
• The BOT, which provided funding for the neighborhood’s development;
• CTUIR Housing Development Team, which is responsible for developing and managing housing projects; 
• Nixyáawii Financial Services Board of Directors, which oversees NCFS;
• Adair Homes, which will construct the project’s first four homes;
• 1st Tribal Lending, which approved a mortgage for a tribal member for one of the homes;
• Wenaha Group, a construction project management and consulting firm helping with the initiative;
• U.S. Bank Foundation, which provided a $100,000 grant that helped move the project forward; and
• Bryon Picard Grading & Excavation, which is providing the dirt work for the project.

Ranslam also thanked CTUIR Executive Director J.D. Tovey III and the Office of Legal Counsel for developing the 99-year lease stipulation for the homes. Each neighborhood parcel comes with a 99-year lease because the CTUIR can’t sell its lands but can offer the lease to provide housing to tribal members.

“It’s good to see projects like this happening for the CTUIR and its tribal members,” Huesties said. “This project gives tribal members a chance at homeownership during a time when affordable housing is a big issue not only here on the reservation but the state, too. I’m glad to see NCFS and the others who helped with this project make this happen.”

Ranslam said with the housing project, NCFS wants to reduce barriers CTUIR members face in becoming homeowners on the Umatilla Indian Reservation (UIR).

“Even if a tribal member has building land, they still face challenges of building their own home, working through a construction loan and the additional costs associated with constructing a home. These can be overwhelming for anyone but especially for those who are first-time homeowners,” she said. “By NCFS managing and providing the upfront financing of homes at the Nixyáawii Neighborhood, we’re reducing these barriers and helping to reduce the cost associated with a construction loan. By working with the NCFS housing development project, tribal members partner with NCFS rather than face construction hurdles on their own.”

Ranslam said the houses under construction are on Lots 14, 32 and 45. A fourth house is being built on Lot 8 for a CTUIR member who has the 99-year lease in place and a mortgage approved with 1st Tribal Lending. 

The Lot 14 home will have four bedrooms and two full bathrooms and come in at 1,485 square feet. The homes on Lots 32 and 45 will have three bedrooms and two full bathrooms at 1,232 square feet.

Ranslam said each home will come standard with energy-efficient heat pumps, Hardie lap siding, quartz countertops and backsplash, Whirlpool kitchen appliances and extensive warranties on materials.

She said some of the upgrades for the homes on Lots 14, 32 and 45 include large concrete patios, soft-close cabinets, sill/apron interior window trim and a master bathroom modification to include a shower and glass door rather than tube.

Ranslam said excavation was expected to start the first week of March on the four homes.