Published May 18, 2022
DC3 and CHAD hosted an open house and hamburger feed on Tuesday, May 17, at the site of the newest CHAD house, which is 811 First Ave. Pictured (front row, left to right) are Juan Castro, dual credit high school student, Dodge City; Jesus Gamon, freshman, Dodge City; Jorge Ambriz, sophomore, Dodge City; Eddie Hernandez, sophomore, Dodge City; Ben Schultz, freshman, Dodge City; (back row) Angie Gonzalez, Dodge City/Ford County Development Corporation Housing and Special Projects Coordinator; Mollea Wainscott, Dodge City/Ford County Development Corporation Assistant Director; Patrick Shiew, DC3 Professor of Building/Construction Technology; Loren Coval, DC3 Building/Construction Technology Assistant; Hunter Carson, District Representative for U.S. Senator Jerry Moran; Dr. Harold Nolte, DC3 President; and Leonardo Lira, sophomore, Dodge City. [Photo by Lance Ziesch]
Dodge City Community College (DC3) and the Community Housing Association of Dodge City (CHAD) hosted an open house on Tuesday, May 17, to show off this year’s CHAD house, which is located at 811 First Ave.
Through this hands-on partnership, which is in its eighth year, DC3 students build houses from the ground up, learning all facets of building construction.
This year’s project, which began in July 2021, is a 1,300-square-foot, single-family home. It contains three bedrooms, two bathrooms and a one-car garage.
“We have a few more items to complete,” Mollea Wainscott, Dodge City/Ford County Development Corporation Assistant Director, said. “However, the house should be complete and listed in July.”
DC3 Professor of Building/Construction Technology, Patrick Shiew, said he thinks the project turned out great and the future homeowner will appreciate all the extras the students built into the house.
“This has been a good, but trying year,” Shiew said. “Some of the best things we like about this house design by Dana Williams are the wrap-around porch, the open living room and kitchen, and the black trim and windows.”
In addition to the donated house plans by Dana Williamson Architecture, Pella Windows and Doors donated all the windows for the current project. And of course, there were many other individuals who also have worked hard to make the project a success, Shiew said.
“We could not do this project without Building/Construction Technology Assistant Loren Coval; CHAD leaders Mollea Wainscott, Angie Gonzalez, and the CHAD board; City Code Enforcement support from Kevin Israel, Josh Adams, Brady Unruh, and John Hussey,” he said. “And also Dr. Clayton Tatro, support from DC3 administration and staff; and Jeff Schnitker and Kyle Weller from Gunsmoke Construction.”
As CHAD and DC3 wrap up their 2022 project, they are already making plans for next year’s house, which will be a three-bedroom, 2-bathroom, single-family home at Avenue N and Military Avenue, Shiew said.
“Next year’s home will be another design by Dana Williams Architecture,” he said.
Wainscott said the ongoing partnership with DC3 is funded with a Moderate Income Housing grant from the Kansas Housing Resource Corporation and allows CHAD to accomplish three things: to build additional moderate-income housing units, to train future workforce, and to clean up and improve blighted neighborhoods.
In addition to the come-and-go open house, Black Hills Energy also sponsored a free hamburger feed onsite from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m.
By Lance ZieschDC3 Assistant Director of Marketing and Community Relations