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 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.

Construction management and other technical education courses give students the chance to "test their interests," said Andrew Edtl, a Canyons School District board member. "They have gained real-world experience and learned lifelong lessons."

Canyons Technical Education Center's cosmetology and barbering program has the highest numbers of enrollment, Principal Doug Hallenbeck said, but construction management is also popular at the Sandy facility.

Juniors and seniors come to the center from Alta, Brighton and Corner Canyon high schools, as well as other schools in the district. A larger percentage of students in this year's construction management program are from Corner Canyon.

The class is concurrent enrollment, meaning students can cash in on college credits when they complete the course.

Some students are independently motivated to pursue technical education, but many join courses with their friends, Hallenbeck said.

Whether they stick with it or not, a little career exploration doesn't hurt, Hampton said.

"We show them options and opportunities," he said. "The one-size-fits-all, go to college and get a job … isn't going to work anymore."

Willson still wants to go to college, where she plans to take construction management courses and eventually get an architecture license. Her participation in the technical program, she said, opened avenues she hadn't thought of before.

One of her favorite parts of the construction project was painting the interior walls at the home.

Putting on the finishing touches gave her something important — "a feeling of accomplishment."

For more information about the home, contact CTECHouse@canyonsdistrict.org.

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