A two-story house built by Evanston Township High School students will roll through city streets on Monday, August 3, heading from the school's parking lot at 1600 Dodge Ave. to its permanent home at 2120 Darrow Ave.

The move, scheduled to begin at 9 a.m., is the latest product of ETHS's Geometry in Construction course, a program that has paired hands-on math education with affordable housing since 2013. Once the house reaches Darrow Avenue, it will enter a community land trust operated by Community Partners for Affordable Housing, where it will be sold below market rate to a low- or moderate-income family.

"We just love being a partner with high school in the city on this," CPAH President Rob Anthony told Patch. "We work in a lot of different communities, and when people hear about this they say, 'Oh, my God, we want to do that!' It's just phenomenal that the high school committed to this and they've been doing it for so long."

The program is a collaboration between ETHS, the City of Evanston, and CPAH. Co-teachers Maryjoy Heineman and Matt Kaiser have run the course together since 2013, working with architect DonnaLee Floeter to make sure each house fits the look of its destination neighborhood. The teachers choose aesthetic details like siding color, shingle style, and trim, then students handle the construction over the school year.

The course counts for two blocks and two credits. Students learn the full geometry curriculum through the physical work of building: floor and wall framing, sheathing, roofing, siding, window installation, painting, and trim.

"The class is designed so that the geometry is driven by how you build a home," Heineman told Patch. "We shift away from a traditional geometry curriculum and go with what sort of tools can we take from geometry that we could apply to what we're building right in front of us."

The Evanston RoundTable reported in September 2025 that the house moved that month was the program's 10th house and 11th total structure, counting a shed behind the high school. The program paused during the pandemic before resuming in-person builds.

Once a house reaches its lot, professional contractors spend roughly a year building a foundation, installing electrical wiring, and connecting water and plumbing before the home is ready for occupancy, according to the RoundTable. Homeowners in CPAH's land trust own the house but not the land underneath, which keeps costs down. If they later sell, the home must go to another income-qualifying family, keeping it permanently affordable.

What residents along the route should know

The house will travel east on Lake Street, north on Dodge Avenue, east on Simpson Street, and north on Darrow Avenue. Darrow Avenue will be closed from Simpson Street to Payne Street from 7 a.m. to 5 p.m. on August 3, including both sidewalks. Residents and businesses along the route can expect minor delays accessing their properties during the move.