Jones Center Transitions House

April 1, 2010, was a momentous day for Flint Hills Technical College when area leaders broke ground on the new Jones Center Transitions House at Flint Hill Technical College. Representatives from FHTC, the FHTC Board of Trustees, USD 253, Kansas State University, and the FHTC Foundation Board participated in the groundbreaking ceremony.

The Jones Center Transitions House is a cooperative project between Flint Hills Technical College, Kansas State University, and Emporia USD 253 school district. Flint Hills Technical College construction technology students will be building a “net-zero” energy-efficient house that was designed by students in the school of architecture at Kansas State University. Once completed, the house will be used to help teach occupational life skills to high school students, with special needs, from USD 253 and outlying communities.

A $200,000 matching grant from the W.S. & E.C. Jones Trust has been secured by the FHTC Foundation to help fund the project. The total cost of the project is estimated at $533,000.

The project will be constructed over a two-year period on the FHTC campus. The FHTC Foundation will solicit donations to provide $225,000 to the project. In addition to the $200,000 donation from the Jones Trust, FHTC will provide an in-kind match of $108,000. The in-kind match will be provided by the construction technology students and instructors as the labor to build the house. The in-kind labor cost is an estimate based upon preliminary plans and the core curriculum that can be performed by the students and instructors.

The project will impact a variety of students in different ways. The “Transitions” students from USD 253 and surrounding communities will have a permanent residence for their program in the upper floor of the house. The construction technology students at FHTC will receive the hands-on experience in learning to build a house that will meet the needs of different organizations. The students of FHTC will also have additional classroom space in the lower level of the house. With the enrollment at FHTC continuing on an upward trend, this space will be vital in continuing to offer the quality educational programs to which students at FHTC have become accustomed. Additionally, the students in the Kansas State University School of Architecture have benefited by designing the facility as part of the curriculum for their program.