A Navajo Nation first: community-owned apartments

SHIPROCK, N.M. (AP) – Almost 100 Navajo families have a new home after the opening of the $14 million Chaco River Apartments in Shiprock.
The community-owned complex is a first for the Navajo Nation and has 96 units. The apartments are operated by a nonprofit community board but a developer will continue to work as property management agent and co-owner.
Navajo Nation Vice President Ben Shelly said during last Thursday’s ribbon-cutting ceremony that the tribe’s population has grown and the apartment complex is a way to accommodate changing needs.
Funding came from the New Mexico Mortgage Finance Authority, the Rural Development Program of the U.S. Department of Agriculture and the Navajo Housing Authority.
Developers hope to use the Shiprock complex as a model for similar projects on the Navajo Nation.