New Washoe homes open in Stewart

It has been nearly a decade since new homes were envisioned on 14 acres near the corner of Snyder Avenue and Dat So La Lee Way, just south of Interstate 580 in the Stewart Colony. In a region with persistent affordable-housing challenges, this seemed an unimaginable dream. It has now come true.

The Washoe Housing Authority is hosting a ribbon cutting and open house noon Sept.18, celebrating the completion of its latest project—a Low-Income Housing Tax Credit housing development. By the year’s end, 20 Washoe families will be settled into these new homes.

“This is a total team effort,” said Housing Director Martin Montgomery. “Many people and partners were involved. It’s not a one-person project but one project of many people.”

The WHA development has nearly $14 million in debt-free financing through low-income housing and solar tax credit equity, a Home Means Nevada grant, and Affordable Housing Program funds.

If tribal members meet all the requirements, they will own their home in 15 years.

For Amy Tyler, 37, of Carson City, moving into a new LIHTC home will mean her two children will have their own bedrooms. Tyler, who grew up on the Carson Colony and in Fallon, works for a state agency.

“This home means stability for me and my kids and a place for them to grow up,” said Tyler. “I’m a single parent. I have an entry-level position. Forty percent of my salary goes to preschool.”

Darlene Smokey, 45, who currently rents in Dresslerville, is returning to Stewart, where she lived in the 1990s when her mom, aunt, and other family members moved into new rent-to-own homes. Smokey graduated from Carson High, earned a college degree in California, and served in the Nevada Army National Guard. She works for the Washoe Tribe in the Cultural Resources Department. This mother of two aspires to be a Washoe–language teacher.

“Owning a home one day seemed really far off,” said Smokey. “I had no plan. I had no intention of going back to Carson. I love our quiet little corner in Dresslerville. Down the road, if anything ever happens to me, my girls will have a place of their own, which is some peace of mind for me.”