A new day for farm workers in Mattawa
Town celebrates dedication of housing project
COLUMBIA BASIN- The fight against substandard housing continues in this area of the state.
After opening agricultural worker housing developments in Othello and Warden, today the "Villa Santa Mar'a" project in Mattawa will be dedicated, with the presence of a myriad of city, county and religious leaders.
The housing development, which opened four months ago in the town that houses a high percentage of Hispanic farm workers was built in partnership with a handful of public and private investors and the Diocese of Yakima, which have teamed up to build a number of other similar developments as well.
Among the partners are the State of Washington Housing Finance Commission, the Washington State Housing Trust Fund, Key Bank National Association, Impact Capital, Homestead Capital and the diocese, the last two having been important players in the construction of the projects in Warden.
Homestead also participated in the construction of a development in Othello, that time with the help of the Diocese of Spokane.
Villa Santa Mar'a is composed of 44 two-, three- and four-bedroom rental housing units, playgrounds, a community facility and a manager's unit.
Rent is based on a family's income and residents must show that they have $3,000 saved to qualify to live in the development.
The units became available in January and are completely filled. On-site manager Gracie Adame says she has a waiting list of about 30 people who have filled out applications to live at Villa Santa Mar'a.
Management at this housing development is different, Adame, who lives in one of the brightly colored units with her husband, says.
"We care for the tenants and try to be as helpful as we can," she said Tuesday while sitting in her office located at the development's community facility. "We're not just sitting here waiting for them to pay their rent."
Adame is indeed very involved in the lives of the residents of Villa Santa Mar'a. As she strolls among the blue, yellow and orange apartment buildings separated by expansive stretches of thick grass, she greets everyone with a friendly "buenas tardes." She knows their names, how many children a family has and how at least one is coping with a recent illness.
In addition to collecting rent, the Adames also help their tenants by often serving as interpreters for those who need help setting up their utilities accounts and post office boxes, or finding assistance for legal troubles. Gracie Adame says plans are being made to host English lessons on site, as well as computer classes to teach residents how to better use the computer lab at the community building.
Mario Villanueva, the director of the Yakima Diocese's Housing Services, indicated that the focus of the project, like the others, is solving the lack of housing for field workers.
In a prior interview with the Herald, Debra Saeuwyer-Parks from Homestead Capital denounced the drain of funds for affordable housing. Most of these funds, she said, were going to communities near the I-5 corridor, leaving places like Othello and Mattawa underserved.
The investment of Homestead Capital is not just money, as most of the funds come from partners found by Homestead Capital and not by the group itself. Seventy-five percent of it is private, Saeuwyer-Parks said.
The dedication of "Villa Santa Maria" will be hosted by the bishop of the diocese, Carlos Sevilla S.J., and will include guest speakers, tours of the units, live music, traditional dance demonstrations and a christening of the project's community building in memory of former Diocese of Yakima Housing Services member Leopoldo Aguilera.
The celebration begins today at 4 p.m. at the site of the project, at 56 Second Street in Mattawa.