By Claudia Loucks
Geneseo Current

The one-story ranch home, constructed by students in Building Trades Classes at Geneseo High School, is complete and is offered for sale by Jay Pettit of Hazelwood Homes.

Six students in the building trades classes completed the construction with help from Travis Mackey, Career and Technical Education Center Director for the Geneseo School District; Bryan Stone, GHS Vocational Instructor; and with help from employees of Hazelwood Homes, Inc., Today’s Builders, Durian Builders, Wirth Plumbing and VanOpdorp Electric.

The three-bedroom home features two full bathrooms; a walk-in closet in the master suite and custom tile shower in the Master bathroom; open concept kitchen with quartz countertops, dining room and great room with vaulted ceilings and a gas fireplace with stone face and custom mantel in the great room; 16’ x 12’ covered rear porch and large covered front porch with stonework on the walls.

There is a crawl space with full-sized door for access and poured concrete floor; low maintenance Pella vinyl windows; three-car garage with zero-step accessible entry and insulated overhead doors with openers and door opening into back yard.

The 1,568 square foot- home, at 851 East St. in Geneseo, is being offered for sale at $382,000, and anyone interested in more information is asked to contact Jay Pettit at 309-441-5184. Pettit said any profit made from the sale of the house will be returned to the Building Trades Program at GHS.

Mackey said he is pleased with the interest in the program and plans are to build another home next year…”We already have 12 students signed up for the program.”

He explained that the building trades program was at one time “a staple in the Career and Technical curriculum, but was then removed for several years…”We are very excited to have it back,” he added. ‘The students and instructor Bryan Stone worked very hard on the project this year.”

Stone was hired in 2016 to teach a building trades program that did not have much participation or support, he said…”For two years we did odd jobs in the community and the program was shut down in 2018. We have been working hard to revamp the program to get it back, and with the help of several local businesses and contractors, a nearly-all-new school board, Mr. Travis Mackey’s and Bob Pettit’s dedication to the program, it happened!”

Stone added, “The program is so much bigger and better than I think any of us thought it would be. The community took notice that we needed this program and with the help of everybody, it’s more than back!”

With the help of Hazelwood Homes, Durian Builders and Today’s Builders, Mackey said, “We were able to stay on track and finish the house before the end of the school year. A special thank you goes to Damon Willaert who helped with the project on a regular basis and worked closely with Mr. Stone and the students.”

Completion of the house also was possible with donations of materials, labor, and furnishings from Chicago St. Decorating, Village Home Stores, Fireplaces Plus, Sullivan Door Co., Connor Co., Comfort Concepts, Anchor Lumber, Crossroads Supply, Edwards Ready Mix, Riverstone Group, J.L. Hardscape, Elite Concrete, Elite Siding & Gutters, River City Pella, Premier Plaster and Drywall, Eller Construction, Advent Painting, Vern’s Home Improvement, VanOpdorp Electric, Steve’s Mirror & Glass, Wirth Plumbing & Heating and Lona Dekezel.