A house built by students at the Franklin-Essex-Hamilton BOCES school in Malone is now for sale.
The three-bedroom, two-bathroom modular home is built by Building Trades students at North Franklin Educational Center. Electrical Trades students install the electrical wiring in the house, and the Heating, Ventilation and Air Conditioning program installs the heating system.
“It’s really cool to see students in these three different programs working together on this project every year,” said NFEC Executive Principal Shawn McMahon. “Our teachers try to keep it as much like a real job site as possible, and students have to learn to work with and around others, just as they would at any job site. It’s an awesome, hands-on way for students to learn and get prepared for their careers.”
The house is 28 feet by 52 feet. A full list of specifications can be found at fehb.org.
Prospective buyers can tour the modular at an open house that will run from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday, Jan. 22, at 23 Husky Lane in Malone. All open house attendees should wear a mask and maintain 6 feet of distance between them and other groups whenever possible.
People who are interested can also tour the house by appointment during school hours. To make an appointment, call Eric at 518-483-5230 ext. 4055.
The house will be sold through a sealed bid process. Potential buyers submit a sealed bid to FEH BOCES; bid packets with full details can be downloaded at fehb.org.
Bids can be submitted until 1 p.m. Wednesday, Feb. 2. At that time, the submitted bids will be opened and reviewed. The winning bid is expected to be awarded by the FEH BOCES Board of Education at their meeting Thursday, Feb. 17.
Building Trades teacher Eric Ashlaw leads the charge on building a modular house every year. Ashlaw, who worked in construction before he started teaching with FEH BOCES, makes sure that students have a strong foundation in safety procedures before they start with hands-on experience.
The Building Trades program is a mix of classroom work, rooted in a virtual carpentry curriculum through the regional carpenters’ union, and experiential learning that gives students opportunities to apply their knowledge.
“I graduated from FEH BOCES, then worked in the field for over a decade, so I know what skills are important for kids to learn while they’re here,” Ashlaw said. “I’m always looking to equip my students with the tools they need to succeed after they graduate.”
Building Trades, Electrical Trades and HVAC are three of 11 Career and Technical Education programs run by Franklin-Essex-Hamilton BOCES. These two-year, half-day programs for juniors and seniors focus on preparing students for careers in trades through hands-on experience and integrating academic subjects with real-world applications.
FEH BOCES also runs a Building Trades program at its school in Saranac Lake. A tiny house built by students there is expected to be up for sale this spring.