The Coeur d'Alene Tribe says it has landed a $500,000 federal grant, which it will use to update 35 residential rental units located throughout the Plummer-Worley area on the tribe's reservation in North Idaho.

The Indian Community Development Block Grant was awarded by the U.S. Department of Urban Development, says Marc Stewart, spokesman for the tribe. The grant will be used to renovate and install energy-conserving upgrades as part of the tribe's effort to improve affordable housing for tribal members living on the Coeur d'Alene Indian Reservation, Stewart says.

"We're working hard to address the quality and quantity of the tribal housing," Chief James Allan, Coeur d'Alene Tribe Chairman, said in a press release.

The project will include installing energy-efficient windows and appliances, Stewart says. A contractor hasn't been selected yet, although the work is expected to be completed this summer, he says.

Separately, the tribe is nearing completion of a $4 million, 20-unit housing project in its Gathering Place development on Agency Road, near the old tribal headquarters in the southwest outskirts of Plummer, Stewart says. That project involves the use of straw bales in its construction materials. Straw has a higher insulation value than most conventional building materials, which helps reduce heating costs and energy consumption, Stewart says.

The tribe owns 144 multifamily and single-family residential units throughout the reservation, he says. About 2,300 members are enrolled in the tribe, and about 1,400 of them live on the reservation, which has a total population of about 10,000 people.

The HUD grant was one of 51 competitive Indian Community Development Block Grants totaling $33.6 million that the federal agency issued in March to tribes in 12 states to aid economic and housing development.