Aptos High Students Build Tiny Home

By Jondi Gumz

When Ian Hsu, a junior, transferred to Aptos High from Danville, he heard about an interesting project on campus: Students in a class building a tiny home on wheels.

Ian wasn’t taking that class, but construction teacher Dusten Dennis encouraged him to volunteer om Saturdays. So Ian did.

In fact, he was working June 1 to make sure finishing touches got done.

He’s one of the 17 students who put in untold hours completing the tiny home on wheels unveiled at a June 3 event hosted by Julie Edwards, who heads the Career Technical Education program for Pajaro Valley Unified School District.

The project exemplifies a strong sense of community, Edwards said, with the new superintendent, Dr. Heather Contreras on hand to see.

What size is this tiny home? Twenty feet x 8 feet, with an efficiency kitchen, bedroom/living area with a ceiling fan, windows on either side for a breeze to blow through, and bathroom with shower, sink and toilet.

Such tiny homes on wheels have been legal since December 2022 in the unincorporated areas of Santa Cruz County, thanks to the advocacy of First District Supervisor Manu Koenig.

Could tiny homes on wheels make a dent in the local unaffordable housing market?

That remains to be seen but with tiny homes costing $30,000 to $70,000 to build on average, it’s clear this is much more affordable than what’s on the market.

In April, the median home price in Santa Cruz County was $1.4 million based on 34 sales.

Building Skills

The goal of Career Technical Education is to bridge the gap between the classroom and the real world and get students on track for high-wage, high demand careers.

Freshman Aiden Gonzales, one of the students in the construction class, said teacher Dusten Dennis “helped every single one of us improve our skills.”

And Aiden is eager to start on the next tiny home.

Madisson Knudsen said she made new friends by taking the class and is more curious about construction. Her favorite part of the build: Insulation.

Granite Construction, which does projects nationwide and is headquartered in Watsonville, helped launch the tiny home initiative via $50,000 and a partnership with the Pajaro Valley Unified School District Career Technical Education program.

Erin Kuhlman of Granite Construction said this included creating an internship for a high school student, which had not been done before.

A tiny home on wheels under construction by Watsonville High CTE students should be ready in a year.

To be Sold

Katryn Bermudez, president of the Pajaro Valley Education Foundation, said the nonprofit will market the tiny home on wheels, and the proceeds will be used to fund construction of the next tiny home — selling price to be announced.

Ramon Gomez, an aide to county Supervisor Felipe Hernandez and a 1980 graduate of Watsonville High, said the tiny home “symbolizes hope and opportunity.”

Dennis introduced locals in the building trades who supported the students: Testorff Construction, Talmadge Construction, George H. Wilson Inc., Gabriel Regalado Electric, Elements Manufacturing, and the Eliad Group.

Another supporter: Les Forster of the nonprofit Your Future is Our Business.

Over the past two years, 200 students worked on this project.

The 17 students who did the most work: Alina Garcia, Ian Hsu, Elliott Ramsay, Tyler Thomas, Gregory Testorff, Madisson Knudsen, Carolyn Alcantar, Dylan Hendrix-Wymore, Andrew Lopez-Rameno, Bryce Hoops, Camden Fincher, Jordan Torres, Aiden Gonzales Cisneros, Spencer Hancock, Greyson Agnello, and Daniel Perez.

“This is a labor of love,” said Aptos High principal Alison Hanks-Sloan.

As a reward for their efforts, the Eliad Group provided them with tool bags with this logo, “Team Tiny Home.”

There were not too many hiccups — except for returning a bathtub because plans called for a shower. And that was a fixable problem.