4/5/2009 6:00:00 AM Looking for buyer for student built home
Students in the OHS home construction course build homes under the guidance of teacher Justin Zander. Current students include (front) Phil Klahn and Kyle Grover, who are mudding drywall on the basement ceiling in a photo taken earlier this month. A home at 520 Alpine Parkway built last year is currently for sale.
Local school officials hope someone will, as a house built last year by Oregon High School students has been on the market for nearly a year.
To attract buyers, the district will host an open house Sunday from 1 to 4 p.m. at the 520 Alpine Parkway home.
Oregon School District business manager Andy Weiland said just about every penny of the asking price went into construction of the 3,000-square-foot home.
It features walnut hardwood flooring, a curved staircase, granite countertops, a large wet bar in the basement, a large deck and more.
"It is an awesome value if people go in and take a look at it," he said.
After building eight homes in eight years, this is the first time the construction class's finished product hasn't been snapped up in short order - a drought that mirrors the larger real estate slump.
Fifteen OHS students are currently building another house a few doors down.
But next fall, the program will pair up with Habitat for Humanity of Dane County on a 4-unit townhouse on the village's west side.
The partnership will take the financial risk off the school district's shoulders.
Meanwhile, Sunday's open house is giving one OHS senior a different kind of learning opportunity.
Justin Frederick, a member of the school's DECA program, is tackling the job of marketing the home and helped organize the open house.
An extensive business plan about his efforts earned him a first-place finish recently at the state DECA conference in Lake Geneva and a berth to the international competition in California later this month.
Frederick said he'd considered a career in real estate for a couple years before school staff suggested he try to market the Alpine Parkway home.
With plans to study real estate business at MATC or UW-Whitewater after graduation, he said the experience is paying off.
"This gives me a little education before I start into my career," he said.
