WARREN City appreciates students' work on Woods House

By STEPHEN SIFF
VINDICATOR TRUMBULL STAFF
WARREN -- The carpentry students who have labored all year to fix the historical 1854 Woods House are now headed toward summer vacation, and their project is moving closer toward getting sold.
Trumbull Career and Technical Center students who worked on the Mahoning Avenue house were to be congratulated today for their efforts by Mayor Hank Angelo.
In the past two years, the house has gone from wreck to restoration, and dozens of carpentry, electrical and interior design students have honed their skills inside.
"They are kids, and they have done something now they can be proud of," said Dr. Douglas Wilcox, who supervises agricultural and trade programs at the center.
What was done: The students have revamped the home's interior, adding heating runs and a new electrical system. In some spots, they fabricated trim and moldings by hand to match what was put on the house in the 19th century.
The Woods House is not finished -- drywall needs to be put up, a second furnace has to be installed, and a decision must be made about a deteriorating foundation in the back.
The students may be back again in the fall if the house isn't sold by then, said Mike Keys, director of the Warren Redevelopment and Planning Corporation, which owns it.
Interested in buying: Several people have expressed interest in buying the property, which has a carriage house and a more modern building in the rear. Keys estimates it will go for "well over $100,000." The interest has come from people who would use the building for office space, as well as from one person who wanted to live there.
The house had been empty for decades when WRAP bought it for $63,000 in 1998. It has put tens of thousands of dollars worth of materials into it. Construction started, then was halted in 1999 by the discovery of asbestos. Removal of the material was paid for with a $33,000 grant from the Raymond John Wean Foundation. TCTC students have been back working on it the past two years.