At home in Royal City

ROYAL CITY — "Safe" is the word that comes to mind for mother Lizeth Gutierez, a resident at the newly completed Jardin De Rosas housing development in Royal City.

For the Gutierez family, the move to the new 25-unit development complex which was begun two years ago, means being able to let their 3-year-old daughter, Yamilette, play outside. It also means not worrying about repairing a leaky roof and having the luxury of a washer and dryer.

Across the street a mother of two, Blanca Mayo, whose husband is a migrant farm worker, doesn't miss the small trailer her family moved out of to come live at Jardin De Rosas.

The neighborhood is a better place to raise a family, Mayo said.

Now complete, the $3.4 million development, which was headed up by the Housing Authority of Grant County, houses other families like the Gutierezes and Mayos, many of whose families previously lived in substandard housing that was to be condemned.

Approximately 75 percent of those living in the new development are migrant farm workers and 25 percent are low income and retired residents.

The development offers two, three- and four-bedroom units that receive electricity with solar energy.

To be able to provide decent housing using solar technology will hopefully save more costs later on, said John Poling, executive director of the HAGC. "I think it may be the prettiest development we've ever built."

Funding for the project was procured through a combination of resources from the Washington State Finance Committee, the Washington State Department of Economic Development and low income housing tax credits.

Former Washington state Gov. Mike Lowry, also spoke at a reception Tuesday to celebrate the completion of the development, recognizing the importance of the state's agricultural farm workers and the need to build infrastructure that supports those families.

More people in Washington work in agriculture than in any other field and communities should be supportive of helping that industry be successful, Lowry said.