Shipping Containers Could Become Condos In Detroit

[Kor37 9]

Shipping containers could become condos in Detroit

AP

Posted: 2008-05-13 06:32:20

DETROIT (AP) - A Detroit-based group hopes to use empty shipping containers to build a $1.8 million, 17-unit condominium project.

 

The Detroit Free Press reports Tuesday the project would stack empty containers four high, cut in windows and doors, install plumbing, stairways and heating, and add amenities such as balconies and landscaped patios.

 

Groundbreaking could take place this fall on the project if it wins city approval, and it could open in 2009. It's designed by Detroit-based architect Steven Flum.

 

Developers plan to offer condominium units measuring 960 to 1,920 square feet. Prices will range from about $100,000 to about $190,000.

This has got to be one of the dumbest ideas I've seen in a long time!..... B)

[MrPsychic 1]

Hey, isn't Capt. Picard looking for a new place to live?

[youbroughtheryouRiker 2]

Please tell me this is a joke.

[trekz 7]

When I first read this, I thought this housing might be some sort of lower income housing for the poor. Who would pay real money to live in a former shipping container? B)

[A l t e r E g o 9]

It may not be as crazy or weird as it sounds. Prefabs are nothing new and this material is not as outlandish as using, as some have, trash for building material and, some people really like the 'industrial' look. It's entirely possible, by the time the habitations are complete you'd hardly know what they were made from.

[Kor37 9]

Hey, isn't Capt. Picard looking for a new place to live?

I don't think he could afford the asking price for these but it may give him an idea. Perhaps he can get one of those long dumpsters, turn it upside down and saw out a door and some windows. Same basic idea!..... B)

[Theunicornhunter 2]

What do they mean by "shipping container" are we talking the containers used to transport goods by ship? Is there some practical reason for doing this or is someone just trying to be trendy. Obviously, if this got approved it would have to meet building regs (wouldn't fly in Florida - well, actually it probably would fly in Florida which would be the problem).

[ddillard 2]

This is not really a new idea. It is something that has been being done for a while now. The reasoning behind it is to use materials that have already been manufactured rather than using resources to create something new to build with. Also, shipping containers are not used a large number of times before companies replace them with new ones, then the old ones are pretty much sold off to private individuals or left to rust. I have actually been considering the idea of buying a small piece of land in the area where I grew up, which is where my family still lives. If I were to do so, I had seriously thought about converting an old shipping container into a little one bedroom cabin of sorts. That would give me a pretty cheap shelter that I could use until I was at the point of being ready to build a home on the property.

 

Here is a site that is dedicated to the topic that is a fairly good read.

 

http://www.shipping-container-housing.com/index.html

[youbroughtheryouRiker 2]

Hey, isn't Capt. Picard looking for a new place to live?

I don't think he could afford the asking price for these but it may give him an idea. Perhaps he can get one of those long dumpsters, turn it upside down and saw out a door and some windows. Same basic idea!.....

 

Nah, and I wouldn't wish living in Detroit on anyone.