Bemidji High construction students build sold 4-bedroom home for local family

A four-bedroom, two-bath house built by Bemidji High School construction students is already sold and set to close in June, turning a school project into a real home for a local family and another addition to Bemidji’s strained housing supply.

The house is just over 1,800 square feet, large enough to function as a full family residence rather than a showcase build. Students created the floor plan at the end of last school year and started construction in September, working through nearly the full academic year on framing, finishing and the day-to-day problem-solving that comes with an active job site.

For seniors like Audrey Schuver, the project offered more than shop-class practice. She said it helped her understand what it takes to build and own a home. Junior Isabel Aagard and sophomore Lily Waxler focused on practical skills that ranged from painting and patching drywall to fixing plumbing and learning how each part of a house fits together from start to finish.

Bemidji High did not build the home alone. Northwest Technical College students handled the HVAC and electrical work, while the high school students took on the other major components. The split shows a workforce pipeline that starts in high school and continues into postsecondary training, giving students hands-on experience in trades that remain in demand across the region.

The project also reflects a long-running local partnership. Bemidji High School students have been building homes with the Headwaters Housing Development Corporation since 1994, and over that time they have built more than 100 houses for the Bemidji community. HHDC says its school-built construction program now produces one to two homes a year with Bemidji High School and Northwest Technical College.

The housing need that supports the program is substantial. HHDC was incorporated on April 20, 1998, and says it was created to address the region’s inadequate supply of affordable housing. A 2025 housing study found that more than half of Bemidji’s housing stock was built before 1980, and earlier estimates put the local shortage at about 1,000 additional units for the Bemidji area. Local officials and housing advocates have said the need stretches across workforce housing, senior housing, single-family homes and multifamily units.

That makes the student-built house more than a classroom exercise. It is a sold home, headed to a closing date, and a direct example of how trades education can feed both the labor force and the local market at the same time.