Gerald and Dawn Chenevey submitted the winning bid for the 2019 Buckeye House on Brookside Drive at $278,000. (Buckeye Career Center)

NEW PHILADELPHIA (WJER) - Buckeye Career Center officials say two New Philadelphia residents now have the keys to their new Brookside Drive home following nearly two years of student construction work. 

Superintendent Bob Alsept says their latest Buckeye House was sold at auction to Gerald and Dawn Chenevey for $278,000. Alsept says it’s a great real-world experience for their students in construction tech, energy operations, masonry, landscaping, and electrical systems technology programs.

“They certainly have to work through some challenging conditions. They learn that, hey, this is a schedule and that for this group, they have to finish before the next group can do their thing. They learn about timelines. The students learn what it’s like to work on some deadlines, and they really did a nice job with it,” he says. 

Alsept says he was happy the students got to see the competition their house created when it sold Tuesday.

“It’s nice to capture that energy and, I’ll tell you what, Trent Edie who’s our assistant principal who supervises it, he’s kind of like a proud father that night, but it brings great energy when you’re able to sell it at the auction,” he says.

Alsept says they are pleased with the final price, which will allow them to cover their expenses for materials used in the project. He says they are already gearing up to start work on the next Buckeye House in the fall. 

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