Town outside Grand Canyon to break ground on housing project

TUSAYAN, Ariz. – A tiny town outside the Grand Canyon’s South Rim is breaking ground on an affordable housing project.

Tusayan (TU’-say-ohn) long has struggled to build independent housing in the town that’s landlocked by the national park and the national forest.

Aside from a few private parcels, the companies that run the hotels and feed the tourists own the homes in the town.

The off-grid, mixed residential development will be built on 20 acres donated by an Italian development company. It’s known as Ten X Ranch.

Groundbreaking is set for Saturday, July 21.

Town officials say the homes will be ready for occupancy in mid-2019.