Prayer and traditional song was held prior to commencing the excavation of the foundation Wednesday for the first residence in a new subdivision at the south end of Williams Lake.
Owned by the Williams Lake Indian Band, Chief Willie Sellars said he was incredibly excited to finally be breaking ground and building the first home at Coyote Rock Estates.
“It’s taken years and years of planning, and millions of dollars worth of infrastructure construction to get to the point where we’re able to take break ground on this home,” he said in a release.
“This subdivision is a big part of our future, and it will be a critical part of the economic development infrastructure for the Williams Lake area. Everyone benefits from this type of new development.”
The first phase of the residential development of the Coyote Rock subdivision consists of 28 lots, with a further 66 lots being built out in future phases.
There are also ten commercial lots adjacent to the new frontage road running parallel to Highway 97 from Lexington subdivision to Chief Will-Yum gas station. The new frontage road has been named “Quigli Drive” as an acknowledgment of the traditional Secwepemc “pithouse” habitations that are found on the hillside surrounding Williams Lake and throughout traditional Secwepemc territory
“We’ve named this show home the ‘Seklep Residence,” Sellars added.
“Seklep’ means ‘coyote’ in the Shuswap language. The coyote is an important feature in Secwepemc lore, and this house will be befitting of his name.”
Offering 180-degree views of the lake and valley, the home was designed by Phil Harrison of Harrison Designs. Interior design will be overseen by Rena Johnson of the Rusty Bucket and the general contractor will be Titan Construction.
“It will be very much an Okanagan-style living experience,” Sellars said.
“This subdivision will be like nothing the people of Williams Lake have seen before.”
Construction of the Seklep Residence will be complete in five to six months. The Coyote Rock Limited Partnership will be selling both finished homes and ready-to-build fully serviced lots.
(Editor’s Note: Listen to WLIB Chief Willie Sellars in the audio file below.)