HERKIMER – The Herkimer-Fulton-Hamilton-Otsego BOCES Building Construction program has been building houses for local residents for more than 40 years, and the next house could be yours.
A lottery drawing will determine who will receive the house to be built by the program during the 2022-23 school year for completion by June 2023.
The selected homeowner pays the cost of materials and transportation of the house from Herkimer BOCES to its location. The labor is provided for free by high-school juniors and seniors under the supervision of Building Construction instructor John Martin.
Building Construction students are currently working on the program’s 41st house, which is already accounted for, and the lottery drawing will be for the 42nd house next school year.
If you’re interested in receiving the house, attend an informational meeting at 5 p.m. on Tuesday, April 5, in the Building Construction classroom at the Herkimer BOCES William E. Busacker Complex at 352 Gros Blvd. in Herkimer. Enter the classroom directly by going around to the back parking lot (where you will see the current house the class is building).
If you have any questions, contact Herkimer BOCES Building Construction instructor John Martin at 315-867-2600 or jmartin@herkimer-boces.org.
At the meeting, information discussed will include procedures, house styles, the purchasing of materials, the construction date, criteria for applying, moving the house and other owners’ responsibilities.
A lottery drawing will be scheduled for a couple of weeks after the meeting to determine who is selected as the recipient of the house. If multiple people apply and attend the lottery, runners-up can be selected for subsequent years.
The house, which will be an about 1,500-square-foot, one-story ranch, could be delivered to many locations in and surrounding the Herkimer BOCES region. Previous houses have gone as far from Herkimer BOCES as the Thousand Islands, Lake George and south of Cooperstown.
After a client is selected, meetings will be scheduled with the future homeowner to discuss the floor plan and the basic design of the house. The design must meet approval of the Building Construction program curriculum. It must be a single story house and can have up to three bedrooms and two bathrooms. The dimensions are 26.5 feet by 58 feet.
Herkimer BOCES has the only Building Construction program in the state to build a full house every school year, and the program has been doing so every year starting in 1982.
From left: Herkimer-Fulton-Hamilton-Otsego BOCES Building Construction juniors Erik Brasie, of Central Valley; Ed Pink, of West Canada Valley, and Tyler Rando, of Central Valley, pose for a photo while working on the roof of a house the Building Construction program is building.
Herkimer-Fulton-Hamilton-Otsego BOCES Building Construction junior Samantha Sadler (center), of Mount Markham, paints the ceiling of a house the program is building, while Building Construction junior Dalten Barrett (right), of Mount Markham, and teaching assistant Shelby Creater (left) hold up lights.
Herkimer-Fulton-Hamilton-Otsego BOCES Building Construction junior Tyler Rando, of Central Valley, works on the roof of a house the program is building.
Herkimer-Fulton-Hamilton-Otsego BOCES Building Construction juniors work on painting the ceiling of a house the program is building. From left: T.J. Luke, of Central Valley; teaching assistant Shelby Creater; Sam Jacquays, of Central Valley; Samantha Sadler, of Mount Markham, and Dalten Barrett, of Mount Markham.
From left: Herkimer-Fulton-Hamilton-Otsego BOCES Building Construction junior T.J. Luke, of Central Valley, paints a wall of a house the program is building, while junior Sam Jacquays, of Central Valley, holds up a light.
Herkimer-Fulton-Hamilton-Otsego BOCES Building Construction junior Dylan Oldfield, of Poland, works inside of a house the program is building.
Herkimer-Fulton-Hamilton-Otsego BOCES Building Construction junior Ed Pink, of West Canada Valley, works on the roof of a house the program is building.
Herkimer-Fulton-Hamilton-Otsego BOCES Building Construction junior Tyler Rando, of Central Valley, works on the roof of a house the program is building.
Herkimer-Fulton-Hamilton-Otsego BOCES Building Construction junior Samantha Sadler, of Mount Markham, paints inside a house the program is building, while junior Dalten Barrett, of Mount Markham, holds up a light.