Students to help build affordable housing in Hastings beginning next year

Local4 News at 5
Published: Mar. 23, 2023 at 10:17 AM CDT

HASTINGS, Neb. (KSNB) - One teacher at Hastings Senior High School has come up with a creative solution for their space issue. Teachers are currently sharing classrooms, and in an attempt to get some students out of the building, Daniel Birnie proposed having his construction class build homes.

The idea won’t be put into action until the 2024-2025 school year in order to figure out the logistics, but the goal is to serve the community with affordable housing.

“There is a home need here in Hastings, especially in the market range from $100,000 all the way up to $220,000.” said Daniel Birnie, Skill and Technical Science teacher at Hastings Senior High School. “There’s not a whole lot of homes in that range. So I think if we can help the Hastings area kind of fill that void it’ll be a good experience for not only the students but our local economy as well.”

Birnie said with labor coming from the students it won’t be hard to keep the homes affordable.

“So I think you know just with materials and subcontractors, I think we’ll be able to keep those houses a little more affordable,” said Birnie. “These are students that they might not be able to afford those high end houses like that are on the market right now. So maybe some of these students will be able to hone their skills in and they might be able to build a home for themselves some day.”

Birnie said Habitat for Humanity homes is what they’re modeling off of.

“We’ve done a lot of work with Habitat and Central Community College when they were building all the houses,” said Birnie. “Dan McCarthy is a former teacher here and he was teaching here when I went to high school. So we’ve worked with him a lot; we’ve built sheds for Habitat for Humanity and I just kinda like the direction that they take.”

Birnie said he picked the design of Habitat for Humanity homes because it’s a style he really likes. Adding, that’s what he wants to push for on the first few homes they build.

He also has a relationship with the construction teacher at Central Community College; They went to Hastings Senior High School together. Birnie said he will learn on them for advice on how to be successful with the project.

“I feel like through them I’ll be able to find subcontractors that’ll be able to help us out, especially with a project of this scale,” said Birnie. “Just things that didn’t work for them right away, things that did work. If they were to switch anything up, what they would do, and also with being in this area what type of house might sell easiest.”

Birnie said he’s impressed by what the students are able to do. They are currently constructing a building at Hastings Middle School that is student led.