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In Hermiston, Oregon, the Columbia Basin Student Homebuilders Program has completed and sold its eighth home and will celebrate with an open house in late June. Fieldstone Crossing, named by the students, is a 3.25-acre development with 22 homesites on two streets. The program, which is open to students in Hermiston, Umatilla, and Stanfield, launched in 2013 with a career and technical education grant from the Oregon Department of Education.

Money received from the grant was used to acquire materials and equipment for the first build. Proceeds from each sell funds the next project. Sponsored by the Northeast Oregon Homebuilders Association, in partnership with the City of Hermiston and the Hermiston School District, the program combines current programming, private, and public partnership to generate a self-sustaining and essential opportunity for the area’s students.

The new two-story house has 2,330 square feet of living space under a roof with four gables. The temperature of the top floor bonus room is maintained by an energy-efficient electric mini-split system.

On the main level, the living room has a stone fireplace wall that rises 22 feet to the ceiling. The primary suite has a vaulted ceiling, walk-in closet and a spa-like bathroom with a tub, shower and walls clad in cultured marble.

There are two more bedrooms, another bathroom and a powder room. A barn door from Noland Door Co. conceals the laundry room, says Curt Berger, adding, "the doors in the house are real knotty alder and they’re just gorgeous. I want to hug every door."

Energy efficient features, built above code standards, include enhanced insulation, heating, cooling and ventilation systems, says Berger. The kitchen has a five-burner gas stove, quartz counters and a center island.

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