High school houses completed

Great Falls Public Schools and NeighborWorks Great Falls recently celebrated the completion of the two high school houses built during the 2015-16 school year.

GFPS and NWGF annually build two new homes cooperatively. The school district provides teachers as well as students from the Advanced Building Trades and Interior Design classes and NWGF provides construction supervision and the lot. The city of Great Falls provides Community Development Block Grant financing and Falls Construction donates the excavation. The house built by C.M. Russell High students is located at 1104 5th Ave. N.W. and the GFH student-built home sits at 1620 8th Ave. S.

Four students were honored Thursday for their accomplishments throughout the year. The GFH Design Student of the Year is Kelsey Kincaid, and the GFH Builder of the Year is Ezra Dormady. From CMR, Addison Beagles is the Design Student of the Year, and Wyatt Gremaux is Builder of the Year. All four received $100 checks at the celebration.

Beginning in September and throughout the school year, the students work on every phase of the home, from the foundation to the roof. They build fences and lay sod. The design students choose paint colors and fixtures.

Instructors Landon Stubbs, CMR, and Pete Pace, GFH, oversee the construction, under the direction of NeighborWorks construction manager Keith Nelson.

The homes are sold to income-qualified buyers when complete. The houses built this year are No. 36 and No. 37. All homes are certified by Energy Star for the use of energy-saving appliances and design.

To qualify for a high school house, buyers must complete homebuyer education classes and qualify for a first mortgage from a lender. Buyers’ annual income must fall below 80 percent of average median income for Cascade County. To find out more about how you can purchase a new NWGF home, call Catalyst Commercial at 750-1556.

In 2015, NeighborWorks helped create 106 first-time homebuyers, graduated 129 families from homebuyer education, assisted 16 homeowners in foreclosure, helped 10 families build their own homes and constructed or renovated thirteen homes, including the high school houses. NeighborWorks has started construction on its first rental development, a 12-plex at 1201st Ave. S. Last year, NeighborWorks provided resident leadership training, and supported 15 resident-led organizations and