Published May 16, 2024
DC3 and CHAD hosted an open house and hamburger feed on Tuesday, May 14, at the site of the newest CHAD house, which is located at 1306 Military Ave. Pictured (left to right) are Loren Coval, DC3 Building/Construction Technology Assistant; Isaac Hernandez Gonzalez, dual-credit high school student, Cimarron, Kan.; Josue Gallegos, dual-credit high school student, Dodge City; Trevor Taghon, freshman, Rockford, Mich.; Evan Pyle, freshman, Dodge City; Esaid Mendez, freshman Dodge City; Aldo Aguero, sophomore, Dodge City; Connor Benton, sophomore, Cimarron, Kan.; David Ethan Hamilton, sophomore, Dodge City; Shawn Goodwin, sophomore, Dodge City; Koa Nolte, sophomore, Dodge City; Dr. Harold Nolte, DC3 President; Mollea Wainscott, Dodge City/Ford County Development Corporation Assistant Director; Dylan Wainscott, dual-credit high school student, Dodge City; and Patrick Shiew, DC3 Professor of Building/Construction Technology. [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 14, to show off this year’s CHAD house, which is located at 1306 Military Ave.
Through this hands-on partnership, which is in its 10th year, DC3 students build houses from the ground up, learning all facets of building construction. And for CHAD, specifically, it accomplishes three things in the community: it adds additional moderate-income housing units, it trains future workforce professionals, and it cleans up and improves blighted neighborhoods.
This year’s project began on Aug. 24, 2023, and is a 1,350-square-foot, single-family home. It contains three bedrooms, two bathrooms and a two-car garage, and it will be fully complete by July 25.
Patrick Shiew, DC3 Professor of Building/Construction Technology, said that each CHAD house is unique in some way, and this one is no exception. This year’s build features a “barrel ceiling” between the bedrooms.
In addition, Mollea Wainscott, Dodge City/Ford County Development Corporation Assistant Director, said a second thing sets this year’s house apart from its predecessors.
“This house is also unique in that a former student, Juan Castro, designed it,” she said. “Juan graduated from the program last year and now is attending K-State.”
As CHAD and DC3 wrap up their 2024 project, they are already making plans for their 2025 house, which will be located one door to the west of the current one.
“We will build a duplex next door,” Wainscott said. “We are going to use the house plans that local architect Dana Williamson donated a few years ago that we built at Avenue E and Brier.”
Shiew said he is grateful for the ongoing CHAD partnership because it gives his students a lot of on-the-job training with area construction professionals. And he’s glad to see this year’s students are already stepping out into the workforce and moving on with their lives.
“We could not do these projects without the City of Dodge City Code Enforcement staff and CHAD leader, Mollea Wainscott, and the CHAD board,” Shiew said. “And, of course, on the DC3 side, Dr. Clayton Tatro, Vice President for Workforce Development; Loren Coval, Building/Construction Technology Assistant; and our college administration and staff.”
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