Improve Oxford Now! President Sarah Smith and Vice President Jessica Henninge, invite all to visit the finished project house during their first Community Open House, from 1 to 3 p.m., located at 54 North Washington Avenue in Oxford. (Photo by Kelli Miller)

OXFORD — Improve Oxford Now!, a non-profit organization, is proud to announce the completion of their first house project and welcome all to their Community Open House, from 1 to 3 p.m., located at 54 North Washington Avenue in Oxford.

The house, now fully renovated, took the organization over a year to finish and renovations include new windows, new heating, a new roof, new floors, refurbished hardwood floors, primer, trim, a fireplace mantel and more.

“There is a need to provide housing for people that want to move here,” said Improve Oxford Now! President Sarah Smith.

“Our goal is to get more community members here and hopefully more families or people in the school district.” said Smith. “I believe people want to move here, but there aren't enough moderately priced homes to choose from.”

Smith said it was a few years ago, she and Improve Oxford Now! Vice President Jessica Henninge put their heads together to rival the housing situation and create new opportunities for moderate priced housing, but they had no idea of the challenges they would face.

“First of all,” she said, “We didn’t have the money to purchase a fixer upper but after viewing many houses that needed renovations, we figured we might as well dig in and make this happen.”

After not having much luck finding their first project house, Blueox in Oxford contacted Smith to schedule a meeting. Blueox President Jared Bartle and Vice President Julia Miller donated the house to Improve Oxford Now.

In August, 2024, the house on Washington Avenue was signed over to the organization and grant writing for funding soon followed.

“For grant funding, we had to get three estimates for each renovation project and finding three different companies that do roofing, electric, and contracting was not an easy task, especially because they were booked for the season,” said Smith.

Once the grant writing and estimates were completed and mailed, it was just a matter of hurry up and wait. When they heard back, Smith said they didn’t receive their anticipated amount.

“We didn’t receive as much as we needed, so we went back to the drawing board, dropping some of the renovation items,” she said. “And another obstacle happened the day we took over the house, someone went in and removed all of the copper, leaving us the additional cost of re-installing an entirely new heating system.”

“All in all, we received $120,000 in grant funds and local foundation donations,” continued Smith. “And out of the proceeds from the sale, we will pay Blueox for the new heating install.”

Henninge said some of the ideas they had in the beginning were dropped, not only because of cost but to also give the new homeowner choices.

“We knew we might need to reconsider certain projects and rein back from our original list,” said Henninge.

“When we first started the renovation, we were excited to wall paper closets, add a downstairs bedroom, and a few other items, but then dropped those projects,” she explained. “We dropped the back room from becoming a fourth bedroom and made it into an office or dining space, whichever the new owners choose.”

“And we decided against finished kitchen cabinet knobs and drawer pulls, again allowing the homeowner choices,” Henninge added.

Smith said another challenge came from NYSEG and the fact they wouldn’t accept the old electric pole on the property, it would need to be replaced.

“I was calling NYSEG every day to try and get someone out here,” explained Smith, “They wanted to talk to an electrician but our first electrician we chose, didn’t show up, so we had to find somebody else.”

“It was a cold winter and we didn't have electricity into the house yet, so everything came to a stop for a few months,” she added.

After posting a request for help on their social media page, she said a community member reached out and offered an electric pole and free installation.

While waiting for an electrician, they began gutting walls and taking the ceilings down. Once the electric was up and running, contractors were in place and the house project moved forward once again.

Henninge was involved in the last few months with wiring, flooring, painting, putting on doorknobs, all handy work, and finish work, so they didn’t have to wait for a contractor.

“The cool part is how we both complement each other in so many ways,” said Henninge.

“We can get serious work done in a small amount of time,” she continued. “I didn’t have grant writing experience before this, but learned along the way, that is a big take away for me.”

Henninge grew up with a carpenter dad and said she was his ‘right-hand-man”, so she just sort of fell into carpentry because of that.

“I was able to bring him to the project to help with a few things, like building the fireplace mantel,” she added. “I'll always have that close to my heart.”

Her construction knowledge came in handy when Smith would call her with a needs list, such as a 220 outlets and recessed lighting.

Smith said Henninge was always ready and would say, ‘oh I'll get that’.

“I consider myself pretty handy but she jumped right in and did all of the finish work,” Smith continued. “She’s been here everyday and we wouldn't be where we are right now if she hadn't been able to do those things.”

They both realize they have high expectations and at times were let down by some of the hired help as they didn’t have the same work ethics.

“We're still building our team and have found most of the components needed, but we're still working on that one,” Smith said.

The house renovations cost $140,000 and beside the excavating and heating, grant funding and donations paid for everything. They hope to list it at about $200,000 with the proceeds going toward their second project house.

“Location and size will drive our next purchase decision,” said Smith. “We’ll pick the house that works best for us.”

The Improve Oxford Now! team met in high school while playing field hockey, when Henninge was a freshman.

In the most recent years, they pulled a group together to create Oxtoberfest and then the two began forming their own dynamic-duo, the Improve Oxford Now! non-profit organization.

“Together we feel as if we can do anything,” Henninge said. “From start to finish, we found the renovation to be a labor of love and had a lot of help along the way.”

Smith's mother and her friend Mrs. Emerson, helped out with cleaning during the remodel and offered again to clean before the open house.

“We're not big on asking for help, so it's nice when it's offered,” Smith said.

They look forward to thanking the many volunteers, donors, and community members in person.

“Many people have cheered us along the way,” Smith added.

Improve Oxford Now! wish to thank: J&J Painting, Chris Bartle, Jared Bartle and Julia Miller, Blueox Corporation, Fred and Carol Diamond, Kurt Spencer Excavating, Tred Place Trucking, Burrell Excavating & Stone, Wesley Kenyon, Fabers Home & Kitchen, David Emerson and the Wednesday Coffee Crew, Lowes Norwich, many volunteers, their kids and husbands who continually support their endeavors.

For more information on Improve Oxford Now!, visit their Facebook page at Improve Oxford Now!