The Lac du Flambeau Chippewa Housing Authority is investing $24 million in the community.
It will help build 20 new homes and rehabilitate 24 existing ones.
Like the housing market pretty much anywhere you go in the country, the one on the Lac du Flambeau Tribal Reservation is much the same, according to Jeff Ackley. He’s the housing administrator for the Lac du Flambeau Chippewa Housing Authority.
“I mean, there's over a 450,000 to 500,000 shortage of housing in Indian country alone,” said Ackley. “There's a vast need for additional housing and rental properties and all that kind of stuff all over the country.”
The Chippewa Housing Authority [CHA] is making a big dent in that need.
It received $15 million in financing through the Low Income Housing Tax Credit program through the Wisconsin Housing and Economic Development Association.
The housing authority also received $3.7 million through the American Rescue Plan Act and a $750,000 Affordable Housing Program (AHP) grant from the Federal Home Loan Bank of Des Moines. Ackley says the Tribe is committing around $5 million.
Travois has been working with the CHA since 2021 to help secure funding for the housing projects.
Brian Schuler is the organization’s Vice President of Housing Development who works with Tribes across the country.
“We see a lot of overcrowding within reservation housing. [This project] was meeting that particular need in terms of this renovation. Additionally, housing authorities maintain a really large waiting list of households that need housing. The new construction is going to be very vital to the LDF community,” said Schuler.
Schuler says there’s a lack of funding for housing. Tribes can get some funding from the federal government through the Indian Housing Block Grant allocation, but Schuler says the amount hasn’t kept up with inflation.
“It's very critical for us to look at other avenues to leverage what funding that they do have to be able to build a rehab on a larger scale than just addressing the needs of one or two housing units a year,” said Schuler. “Without the use of the tax credit program here, Lac du Flambeau would not be able to address on such a large scale of 44 units any other way. Lack of conventional funding, construction financing, and permanent financing is very difficult to achieve in native communities.”
Work is already underway.
The foundation has been laid for 14 of the 20 new homes and two homes are already framed in. The new construction homes will range from two- to four-bedroom units.
“It's in a planned Tree Haven subdivision area right here in Lac du Flambeau. We have 20 units placed in that area. We also have a community center as well, for the people that are going to be in the homes to have parties or stuff like that kind of thing, meetings, and that kind of stuff,” said Ackley. “[We’re] looking at having playground equipment there as well in this whole little area.”
The housing authority is also renovating 24 homes to update them and make them larger by adding a bedroom and bathroom.
Six families at a time will be moved to temporary housing while the work is being done.
“That way you have a healthier indoor air environment for the tenants and occupants of the unit and it's making more units more comfortable and essentially also helps reduce overcrowding issues that we have in tribal communities as well,” said Ackley.
Ackley says this is the biggest housing project for the community in the last 10 years and to him, that’s worth celebrating.
“It also helps drive the economic engine a little bit. The money that's being spent here on these units is actually going to be staying in the area for a while because we tried to use as many locally sourced trades as possible,” said Ackley. “It gets to put some tribal members to work and you know, all that kind of stuff, they come to use the restaurants, gas stations, all that kind of stuff, they stay in the area. That kind of thing helps drive good economic stability here for the community as well.”
They are working on a tight deadline. Because of the loan and grant requirements, construction needs to be finished by the end of next year.
