High schoolers unveil finished class project: An affordable Sandy home

SANDY — High school senior Marie Willson realized she liked construction when she and her dad started renovating a house in Price.

“It was a real fixer-upper,” she said. “We’ve been fixing the house up because we’re going to be selling it.”

She didn’t want the hands-on work to end. And when she got the chance to enroll in Canyons Technical Education Center’s construction management class, she was all in. Willson and her classmates spent 10 to 12 hours a week constructing a 1,900-square-foot house at 142 Cottage Ave., in Sandy.

On Wednesday, they saw all their hard work pay off.

The class, led by teacher Nathan Hampton, was joined by administrators and city officials to cut a ribbon and open the three-bedroom, two-bath affordable home to the public. The house, built on a lot donated to the student center by the city, is listed for sale for an affordable $468,000 and features a second-story loft, an unfinished basement and custom closets.

“We are targeting teachers, police, firefighters and veterans, but anyone who meets income eligibility requirements can make an offer,” Canyons School District spokeswoman Kirsten Stewart said.

Selling an affordable home to public servants is one way for students to give back to the community, she said, adding the home has the potential to “provide space for our own teachers to live in the community in which they teach.”

The home was built over the course of three school years, with some delay resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic and resulting supply-chain issues. A total of 88 students contributed to the project under the direction of Hampton.

“The students are great,” Hampton said. “Probably 10% of them are interested in actually going into construction.”

Some students, he said, will go on to get construction management degrees or work for subcontractors, and one student started his own carpentry business immediately after finishing the course.

Former student Ansley Caravella came to the ribbon-cutting to see the finished house, which she worked on last year. She had been the only female in her construction management cohort. Now, she’s at Weber State studying construction management in classes still dominated by men.

“I’d love to do residential and do custom homes and stuff,” Caravella said.

Read the full story at KSL.com. 

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