Two students gained real-world, real estate experience after working on an Arrowhead Lake property in Edina, Minn., acquired by the St. Thomas real estate program in the fall. The home was featured in the Parade of Homes tour throughout March.

Seniors and real estate students Teresa Lingg and Theodore Johnson were selected after an application process and worked directly with all aspects of the lake house construction, from obtaining necessary permits to picking out cabinets and color schemes.

Herb Tousley, director of the undergraduate and graduate real estate program, said the unique project was beneficial for Lingg and Johnson.

“It’s been a real good, hands-on experience for them,” Tousley said.

Lingg and Johnson had many responsibilities throughout the process, including obtaining a variance. Lingg said the variance allowed the home to be moved closer to the street, because it would have been physically impossible with the infrastructure of the sewer system to build the home where it was originally planned. Lingg and Johnson completed all the necessary paperwork and argued their case at the Edina Commissioner’s meeting.

“They’re the ones that actually stood up in front of the planning commission … and they got it,” Tousley said. “There’s just no way you can do that in a classroom.”

Lingg said the project has taught her about the construction process and has given her an experience she could not receive anywhere else.

“It really has made me grow as a student and business professional,” Lingg said.

Tousley said that in the future, Lingg and Johnson will observe the sale of the house. The process will be taken over by Nancy Schowenetter at JMS Custom Homes.

A member of the Real Estate Advisory Board first presented the idea for this project to the program.

“He had seen this done before as a fundraiser for another non-profit and thought it would be a good idea,” Tousley said.

Lingg said the real estate program obtained the property for $100,000 off the market price from Crown Bank after a foreclosure.

Lingg said the home costed over $1 million to build, and that some of the labor on the home was donated, some was discounted and some was market price.

If any extra costs remain, they will be paid by a construction loan that Crown Bank gave to the non-profit company created by the Real Estate Advisory Board. However, Tousley said he doesn’t think there will be any extra costs.

“We’re right on budget,” Tousley said.

The house is expected to sell for $1.5 to $1.7 million. Tousley said he hopes the final price will be as high as possible, as any proceeds will go to the real estate program.

“Any difference is going to go to support real estate programs and real estate scholarships,” Tousley said.

Lingg said she decided to work on the project to help the program and future students.

“I know it won’t directly affect me, but it will affect students in the future in a positive way,” Lingg said.

The house was featured in the Parade of Homes tour until March 30. The house is 5,900 square feet, with five bedrooms and five bathrooms. It also includes a sports court that was decked out in Edina high school colors for the tour.

Rebecca Mariscal can be reached at mari2162@stthomas.edu.