It's a tribal tradition to take care of your elders--as you could hope it would be in all communities--and the
Sault Tribe is living up to that tradition with a new residential development.
May 16 saw the ground breaking for the construction of townhouse homes for elders, on the Odenaang Community Development site near Sault Ste. Marie.
Sault Tribe Housing Authority director Joni Talentino says construction on the three townhouses is in the preparation stages now, and actual construction should begin in July.
The schedule includes "roughing in" by early fall, with interior work being finished this winter. Each of the three buildings will contain three two-bedroom rental units with garages, so there will be a total of nine units available for elders. They are smoke-free residences, and each townhouse sits on about an acre of land.
Most of the construction work will be done by the Sault Tribe Housing Authority's construction crews, with the electrical, mechanical, plumbing and foundation work being bid out. The designs were done by
U.P Engineers and Architects in consultation with the housing authority.
"Housing is very proud to use the 'force account' construction method, which means Housing is its own general contractor and our current construction crews will build the homes," says Talentino.
The project cost $1.2 million, in the form of an Indian Housing Block Grant from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development Office of Native American Programs.
Writer: Sam Eggleston
Source: Joni Talentino, Sault Tribe Housing Authority
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