ST. MICHAELS, Ariz.—The St. Michaels scattered site is part of the new construction for NHA Project No. AZ12-405.

Edison Johnson is the project manager for the nine scattered site projects in Arizona and New Mexico. He works in the NHA Civil Engineering Department and said the project designs were started about a month before the COVID-19 pandemic hit the Navajo Nation.

“At that time, we were in the development phase of these nine projects that are now in construction,” he said.

He worked alongside fellow project manager Kendra Dooline, coordinating permits and conducting field visits to the proposed construction sites despite COVID traveling restrictions.

“Even though there were COVID hot spots, were still going out there to do what we needed to do, wearing our masks and being cautious because we really wanted these projects to get going,” he said.

If the pair had not risked traveling during a pandemic, the current scattered site projects would not be under construction right now.

For the St. Michaels scattered site, the Tsosie family will be the recipient of the new home. The applicant is disabled and is being cared for by his grandmother. Because of this, NHA has provided reasonable accommodations for the three-bedroom, 1,500 sq. ft. unit.

“We provided a walk-in shower for easier mobility, including lower door handles, latches, wider doors, and grab bars in the bathroom,” Johnson said.

He said the dry wall and texturing was completed on Jan. 17, 2024, and that the crew would be back for painting and finishing.

The scattered site housing units are being constructed by the LAM Corporation, based in Gallup, N.M. LAM Corp. did the design-build for the nine scattered site units across the Navajo Nation, ranging from two-bedroom to four-bedroom units.

The crew has been working from south to north and west to east to cover the nine scattered sites.

The St. Michaels unit was in division seven of the construction phase, meaning that it was ready for finishing, which entails installation of baseboards, painting and other finishing touches before work on the flooring begins.

“I would say that this house is 65 percent completed,” Johnson said. “It really wasn’t an ideal place to build a home, but the need was there, so we compromised and approached it with civil engineering involved.

“We usually don’t do a lot of earth work, but it was for a family to have a house, so by all means, we did what we needed to do,” he added.

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