A new 59-unit affordable housing development is helping meet the needs of the underserved Native community in Portland, Ore.
Nesika Illahee, which translates to “our place” in the Chinook language, includes 20 apartments reserved for Native Americans to help address the disparities in housing access as well as to provide medical, dental, and behavioral health care to all residents.
Community Development Partners (CDP) and the Native American Youth and Family Center (NAYA) layered two federal funding sources that are not typically combined—low-income housing tax credits and the Indian Housing Block Grant (IHBG). The use of the block grant allowed the team to legally establish a leasing preference for federally enrolled Native Americans.
“It’s an innovative, first-of-its-kind project when it comes to Native housing,” says Oscar Arana, NAYA’s director of community development. The team believes Nesika Illahee is the first to establish a tribal preference outside a reservation by having the Confederated Tribes of Siletz Indians extend its IHBG to NAYA, an urban nonprofit.
All of the apartment homes, which range from studios to three-bedroom units, are affordable to residents earning no more than 60% of the area median income. Residents in the IHBG units pay no more than 30% of their income for rent.
The approximately $17.1 million development is also designed to support residents in recovery by providing key services and program. The Native American Rehabilitation Association provides on-site services, including dental and access to health care. Residents can also walk to NAYA’s center for wraparound services located half a mile away.
To assist others, the team is looking at creating a cohort program with lessons learned from the financing and operations of the development, says Jessica Woodruff, director of development at CDP.
