Picture this: an affordable 45-unit apartment building in the heart of Chicago’s Irving Park. There is 35,000 feet of commercial space at the ground level. There are studios, one, two, and three-bedroom units. Does this sound pretty standard to you? Maybe... but you would be wrong. Because this building will also have a circular rooftop garden growing traditional herbs, balconies that exclusively face the Eastern rising sun, and a river flowing beside and, figuratively, into the design. There is something incredibly special about this building: this is Chicago’s first affordable housing development designed specifically for Native American tenants. Shelly Tucciarelli, member of the Turtle Clan of the Oneida Nation of Wisconsin, and Founder and Director of Visionary Ventures, a Native American Non-Profit, sits down with our hosts, Ouista Atkins and Brooke Warrington, the Training and Development Coordinator and Specialist respectively, of the Seminole Tribe of Florida’s Native Learning Center to tell us all about her journey realizing this dream for Native American Chicago Housing.
Link(s) to Include with Episode:
https://visionaryventuresnfp.com/
https://www.cbsnews.com/chicago/news/affordable-housing-native-americans-irving-park/
Speaker Bio:
Has over 30 years of experience in management, training, administration and development of affordable housing and community development. Shelly is a Native American tribal member of the Oneida Nation of Wisconsin. She is also the President/Executive Director of Visionary Ventures NFP Corporation (VVNFP), a 501(c) (3) Native American nonprofit with over 51% Native American board. VVNFP is working to development the first Urban Indian Housing project using Low Income Housing Tax Credits.
Shelly also is the owner of Turtle Clan Development Services (TCDS). Shelly provides real estate development services and affordable housing consulting services. TCDS focuses on professional services to increase the supply and quality of housing and economic development in Indian Country nationwide. She is working with Tribal Leaders across the country to bring affordable/market rate housing and economic development to their communities. Previously worked for the State of Illinois’ housing finance agency for over 20 years. Shelly worked for the Multifamily Department where she managed and administered the federal Low Income Housing Tax Credit (LIHTC) and State donation tax credit (STC) programs. She holds a Bachelor’s degree in Accounting from Governors State University, and an MBA in Real Estate Finance and Investment from DePaul University. She is active within the community and serves on the Advisory Boards of several New Market Tax Credit (NMTC) Community Development Entities (CDE’s): Enterprise Financial, Southside Community Optimal Redevelopment Enterprise (SCORE), Prestamo, and Community Hospitality Healthcare Services. Shelly is a former Board member for NFP Full Circle Communities in Chicago, Illinois and current board member of Economic Growth Corp. a national entity serving disadvantaged communities nationwide. Shelly is also a member of the American Indian Center (AIC) in Chicago and the Chicago American Indian Community Collaborative (CAICC).