Ann Arbor high school building trades program constructs 55th home
ANN ARBOR, Mich. (CBS DETROIT) - For more than five decades, the Ann Arbor Student Building Industry Program has been constructing homes and then listing them for sale.
The program broke its own record in September when it sold its latest home for $700,000.
Every morning during the school week, students start their day bright and early at the construction site, located across the street from their last build.
The program has built several homes in the same subdivision on Ann Arbor's far west side over the past several years.
"This is the model that we've been building for about three years now," said lead instructor Mark Valchine. "It's the largest home in one year built by students. It will be about 4,000 square feet of space. It has five bedrooms, three and a half baths. We'll feature 9-foot ceilings, granite countertops. It's everything we compete in."
Students said they've learned valuable skills and enjoy the independence that the program provides.
"You want to know what you're doing after high school, and I really want to get into this," said student Robert Conors. "I learned a lot of great things and I'm very grateful for this class and my coaches."
"It's just a really great program that kind of helps you no matter what stage of construction you've done," said student Grace Colone, who is now in her second year with the program. "It really kind of gets your feet under you and teaches you a whole bunch of really valuable life skills.
"It's an incredible opportunity being able to come out here," said student Jonah Kaufman. 'We're out here for three hours, and it's fantastic. (It's) nothing like all my other classes."
"I really like the independence we have," said student Josiah Atkinson. "He trusts us to do a lot. And it's refreshing to see what I've physically built instead of just have it be a grade on a paper."
The program is run by a nonprofit and has 25 board members – all local stakeholders who volunteer their time and resources to support the program.
The program is funded by a combination of donations, the sale of each home and federal funds.
"Any proceeds that happen to be made with the home, go right back into the nonprofit corporation," said Valchine. "They fund scholarships for our students; it funds the next build and possibly property as we need."
Valchine said the best part of his job is seeing the students' sense of accomplishment.
"Really, it's the joy of seeing students achieve stuff that they don't believe they could do," he said.
The house is slated to be finished in the spring.
