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Students in the Montgomery County Public Schools construction trades program at Thomas Edison High School of Technology in Wheaton started building their 37th house in the fall of 2007 and finished construction this spring. This is the last in a series of occasional articles in The Gazette following their progress.
House for Sale.
That is a sign seen often around the county, but the sign on one house in Aspen Hill should be different. It should read: Student Built House for Sale.
After two years of work, students in the Montgomery County Public Schools' construction trades program completed building the house and it is now on the market.
"It's just beautiful," said Carmen White of Silver Spring.
Her son, Jose White, 16, from Springbrook High School in Silver Spring, is in the heating, air conditioning and ventilation program.
"As parents we should be proud of all these kids working together," she said.
The newly completed house sits at the end of a street overlooking parkland just off busy Connecticut Avenue in Aspen Hill. The setting is surprisingly tranquil for such an urban location.
"That pinpoints the type of people who would buy it," said Gabriela Cadima, 17, a senior at Albert Einstein High School in Kensington, who is in the interior design program at Thomas Edison High School for Technology in Wheaton, where the trades programs are located.
Cadima and Moolu Tesfai, 18, a senior at Springbrook High School who is also in the interior design program, were cleaning windows last week, preparing the house for the cornerstone laying ceremony and open house, which took place Thursday.
"We have to maintain its perfection. You can't sell a house at its lowest point, especially in this economy," Tesfai said.
Students from each of the construction-related programs were busy last week preparing for Thursday's festivities celebrating completion of the four-bedroom house.
Carpentry students helped interior design students hang curtain rods in the living room and finished up the fence separating the new house from its neighbors. Heating, air conditioning and ventilation students worked in the attic doing a last-minute check. Interior design students arranged furniture in the family room, working to get the right balance of accessories next to the fireplace.
Outside everyone picked up trash.
On Thursday night, one of the final touches, the cornerstone marking Young America House XXXVII, was put in place by Jim Kettler, president of Montgomery County Student Construction Trades Foundation Inc., Del. Tom Hucker (D-Dist. 20) of Silver Spring, and County Councilwoman Nancy Floreen (D-At large) of Garrett Park.
Many students attended the ceremony with family and friends.
"I'm excited after this whole year," said Sunshine Apostol, 17, a senior in interior design from Wheaton High School. "We finally get to experience what we were doing."
Mark Egan, 18, a senior at Thomas Wootton High School in Rockville, is in the carpentry program. He worked on the house from the beginning in the fall of 2007.
"The framing still had to be done," Egan said as he looked up at the house during the ceremony. "I could see the progress — me working on something and seeing how it could be done and now they can sell it for so much money."
Jacob Remaley, 16, a sophomore at Clarksburg High School, is in his first year of the program. He walked through the house Thursday, showing his family the work and coming to a greater understanding of the scope of the program.
"I expected it to be a shop class or something," Remaley said. "I didn't know they would build a house."
Less than two years ago the lot at 3714 Munsey St. was a mound of dirt, the house just a set of student-designed plans. The house is the 37th house built by students since the construction trades program began in 1976.
Jude Brown lives in the neighborhood and was at the open house afterwards, checking it out.
"I've watched about five of them being built," Brown said. "I'm always impressed with the quality and the encouragement the kids get and the pride of the parents. It's a great program."
The house is listed with Harold H. Huggins Realty Inc. for $589,950. Huggins does not expect the house to sit on the market for long.
"You won't find a better-built house in town anywhere" Huggins said. "The market is beginning to thaw and we're right there with the market, it has everything people are looking for."
The 2,379-square-foot, four-bedroom, two full and-two-half-bath house at 3714 Munsey St. in Aspen Hill has a two-car garage and is in the Wheaton school cluster. It is listed for $589,950. For more information call Harold H. Huggins Realty Inc. at 301-421-1122.
