Since the late 1970s, students in the Fairfax County Public Schools (FCPS) construction technology program have helped build million-dollar homes in McLean. Soon they will be moving on to Springfield to continue their hands-on training.
The Fairfax County School Board approved a 13.81-acre site on Spring Village Drive in Springfield to be used over the next 20 years to build 18 single-family homes. A large percentage of the work on the homes will be done by FCPS students who have worked side by side with professional contractors building 17 homes at a site off Spring Hill Road in McLean.
"We've run out of property," said Chad Maclin, who oversees all trade and industrial programs for FCPS.
The school system obtained the land in Springfield in 1966, and the parcel was originally intended to be an elementary-school site. Expansions to the Franconia-Springfield Parkway took a large portion of the land, and it is currently a vacant lot. Through a partnership with the Foundation for Applied Technical Education (FATE), a Fairfax County nonprofit, the School Board has received zoning approval to build on that lot, and at its Jan. 27 meeting, it voted to allow FATE to use the land for the construction technology program.
"This was a new opportunity for us to move this program forward and to have a positive impact in our community," said School Board member Brad Center (Lee), who referred to the county's renewed emphasis on encouraging students in the professional technical studies program.
"The FATE program is part of that program, and (this decision) is in recognition of how important these programs are," said Center. "There has been for the past 15 years or so a real strong emphasis on academics and getting to college. FCPS supports that, but there also needs to be a recognition that success can be defined in a number of ways."
According to Maclin, students do about 80 percent of the work on the homes, with certain aspects of work — electrical wiring, roof work, foundation pouring and construction — subcontracted out. The contractor chosen for the work on the homes must be aware that he will be working with high-school students and count instruction as a priority.
"We look to see that it's not just a commercial job for them, and they want the students to be a part of the process," he said.
CREATED IN 1970, FATE is not affiliated with the school system but does provide financial support for a variety of professional technical classes, including the "Classroom on the Mall" holiday store at Springfield Mall, also an FCPS program.
FATE was given the land by FCPS and provides all funding for the project, pursues rezoning, creates subdivision plans and will ultimately sell the homes, the major profit of which will go back into the foundation.
"Kids are using this as a tool, as experience. It's like assisting your dad with his contracting job," said Audrey Clark, president of the board for FATE.
The first location for work with the FCPS construction technology program was in a subdivision that is now called “Condor Manor I,” near Spring Hill Road in McLean. The first home, over 6,000 square feet, sold in 1982. Since then, 16 more homes have sold, in two separate phases. The final home is scheduled to be complete later this spring.
"It's designed for students to be able to do commercial work while they're learning in a co-curricular classroom," said Maclin.
In Springfield, the students will begin work on the first of two phases in October in a subdivision that will be called “Springfield Village.” The first phase will mean nine homes, and the second another nine. Maclin said it takes students a year to finish a house, meaning the first phase will be done around 2015. Currently, the Springfield Youth Club uses a portion of the land for sports fields, but Clark said construction on Phase I won't affect that portion. The club will have nine years to find a new field to use for its sports. Representatives from SYC could not be reached for comment for this story.
Subdivision plans are still being finalized for Springfield Village, but the homes there will likely be around 3,000 square feet, according to Maclin, with brick façade and two above-ground stories.
"It's not going to be a starter home," he said.