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- By Native News Online Staff
The largest Navajo town will soon see the hotel it’s been waiting for since 2015 begin to rise from the desert like its namesake. On Thursday, Navajo Nation President Buu Nygren spearheaded the groundbreaking of the $22.5 million Shiprock Pinnacle Hotel.
It marks a notable stage of economic growth for the Navajo Nation’s largest community.
Envisioned by earlier Navajo leaders, the hotel will be a 95-room, limited-service property strategically located near the Wells Fargo bank off U.S. Highway 49.
President Nygren was joined by Navajo Nation Hospitality Enterprise CEO Stan Sapp, Navajo Nation Council Delegates Eugenia Charles-Newton, Amber Crotty, Rickie Nez, Steven Arviso, Brenda Jesus and Hospitality Board Member Otto Tso.
"This long overdue project marks a significant milestone that will keep dollars within the Navajo Nation and attract tourists and businesses to our beautiful lands," the President said.
He credited former Presidents Russell Begaye, Jonathan Nez and the 23rd Navajo Nation Council for laying the groundwork.
“Yes, this is the final groundbreaking for the Shiprock hotel,” the President said. “This hotel would not be possible without the foresight of our past leaders.”
Funding of the project comes from a combination of $2.3 million from the Navajo Nation Division of Economic Development’s Sales Tax, $11.4 million from the Sihasin Fund and $8.3 million from the Permanent Trust Fund, said Delegate Tso.
“This is one of the products of the Permanent Trust Fund plan,” he said. “When COVID hit us, inflation hit us. We had to get this done.”
Shiprock had a hotel at one time, he said. But in 1979 an arsonist burned it down.
Delegate Tso credited former Council Delegate Tom Chee for his persistent efforts to keep the project alive, especially during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Navajo Nation Council Delegate Eugenia Charles-Newton of Shiprock said getting to this point with the project was slow.
“It is a process we are trying to fix with the Navajo Nation," she said.
She said Chee and the Shiprock Chapter tried to launch the project in 2018. She kept its momentum going as a delegate on the 25th Navajo Nation Council.
Stan Sapp, Navajo Nation Hospitality Enterprise CEO, said beyond the 77 jobs the hotel will bring to the community, the Pinnacle Hotel with be an economic anchor.
“We expect a mix to be about 60-to-70% businesspeople and the tourists to be 30-to-40% of the mix that come here,” he said.
Tony Skrelunas, director of the Navajo Nation Department of Economic Development, said there is a growing demand for lodging throughout the Four Corners area.
“There are approximately 800 rooms across the entire Navajo Nation,” Skrelunas said.
The Shiprock Pinnacle Hotel will help bring tourists closer to the sights they come to see, he said.
Design and construction of the project will be done by the Navajo-owned architectural firm Dyron Murphy Architects and general contractor Benally-Woodruff Construction.
The hotel is expected to be completed within 18 months.
Shiprock Chapter President Nevina Kinlacheeny called on the President and the Navajo Nation Council to continue to work for the community’s growth.
“We are not separate. We need to work together,” she said. “We are one Navajo government.”
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