At a local job site in Lemon Creek, university and high school students are laying a foundation for their careers by learning carpentry skills.<\/p>\n
Their work isn’t just supporting their own future. It’ll also address Juneau’s lack of affordable housing.<\/p>\n
Jackie Street Cottages, a seven-home subdivision next to Dzantik’i Heeni Middle School, held a dedication ceremony on Wednesday ahead of much of the work to develop the new neighborhood. The project is a collaboration with the Juneau Housing Trust, the Juneau School District and the University of Alaska Southeast.<\/p>\n
Justin Fantasia, UAS Assistant Professor of Construction Technology, said the first single-family cottage should be finished and on the market by fall of 2019.<\/p>\n
The students are learning basic construction skills like rough framing while working on a service project that will provide a home at a lower-than-typical rate. A win-win, he said.<\/p>\n
“Service should be an integral part of everybody’s learning experience. Training the trades is a big push nationwide,” he said. <\/p>\n
Through the collaboration, the Juneau Housing Trust is able to sell their homes for $255,000, about $100,000 less than a typical single-family home in Juneau, said the trust’s Tamara Rowcroft. It’s the unique way Jackie Street Cottages have come about that allow them to do so, she explained.<\/p>\n
The Juneau City and Borough of Juneau made the land available for sale to the trust, a not for profit project developer. The trust manages the land through a community land trust.<\/p>\n
They’re in the process of identifying low and middle income home buyers to purchase the homes. The trust will help them establish credit and navigate the mortgage profit with a separate lender. Homeowners pay their mortgage and a small lease fee to own the home as long as they want.<\/p>\n
A lot of work remains in both home and rental markets to make Juneau a more affordable place to live, Rowcroft said. She hopes Jackie Street Cottages will help.<\/p>\n
Students from both Juneau-Douglas High School and UAS work on the homes (students from TMHS can also take the course at the crosstown school). A pair of foundations are already up, and the students have erected two small garages next to them.<\/p>\n
JDHS sophomore Khayl Johnson said he’s learning skills to help his dad soon build a cabin in Hoonah. He said he plans to pursue a career in the trades.<\/p>\n
“This will really help me prepare for that, learn the basic little things,” Johnson said.<\/p>\n
Carpenters Local Union 1281 representative Kirk Perisich said the union is looking to hire, and these students are just the type of people they want.<\/p>\n
Perisich handed out mock checks to students showing what they’d make as a first-year apprentice ($920 gross pay for a 40 hour workweek). He said the job market for carpenters in Juneau right now favors carpenters. That’s not typical of fall, he said.<\/p>\n
\u2022 Contact reporter Kevin Gullufsen at kgullufsen@juneauempire.com. Follow him on Twitter at @KevinGullufsen.<\/b><\/p>\n
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