House built by BRCP students available for purchase

The house built by Blue River Career Programs’ Construction Trades class is now available for purchase.

The 1,440 square foot home located on a corner lot in the Loper Elementary school district sits at 734 Center Street. Runnebohm Realty is the listed realtor for the property.

The house project was completed throughout the 2025-2026 school year by Blue River Career Programs’ Construction Trades instructor Dan Bramell and 18 students, who received hands-on experience.

“It’s very rewarding for me and them,” said Bramell. “It’s something we can look back on and say, ‘We built a house when you were in high school.’”

Licensed contractors helped with items such as plumbing, electrical and heating and air conditioning. Bramell and the students handled the rest.

“I teach everything else,” said Bramell. “We have a timeline to get this, this and this done.”

And that’s not easy when you are working with students still in the learning phase. That does slow the process down, according to Bramell, who has been with Blue River Career Programs (BRCP) for 17 years.

“We are opening a lot of doors for them,” he said of the students getting real world experience on a job site.

Bramell (photo) followed a similar path when he was younger. His parents operated rental properties when he was a kid. He often followed his father to work on those properties.

While attending Warren Central High School, he signed up for a Building Trades class through the Walker Career Center.

Bramell graduated and went into the construction business where he worked until joining BRCP in Shelbyville. The new house at Center Street, the second his class has built on that street, is his final build. He is stepping away from the classroom to move into “semi-retirement” as he calls it doing construction work with a friend.

“It’s a good program,” said Bramell of the BRCP class. “It needs to be looked at to improve it going forward. It’s time for a change. I’m 61. I’ve got a few more years before retirement.”

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