A local builder has received approval from Edmonton city council to move forward with an 18-unit apartment building made largely from shipping containers.
The building will stand four storeys tall and house upwards of 40 people.
Engelman is the owner of Honomobo, the company behind the design. On Wednesday, city council approved the build at four storeys.
“They’re readily available. They’re incredibly air and water tight and they’re structural and they’re just sitting around. So we looked at this and said, ‘How can we take this modern, beautiful structure and turn it into something really great?'” Engelman said.
READ MORE: Shipping container homes coming soon to Edmonton neighbourhoods
With the construction of the project comes the transformation of a currently vacant lot at 104 Avenue and 95 Street. The mixed-use development will also include space for retail and offices.
“This project specifically is to attract millennials into the neighbourhood and basically seed this community.”
The fabrication stage is expected to take around three months, while on-site construction is expected to last a similar duration.
“We’re hoping that we can attract the kind of tenants that will make use of the park spaces and the improvements in the area,” Walter Trocenko, a real estate and housing branch manager for the City of Edmonton, said.
“I think generally it’s going to be a sorely needed lift in the community broadly.”
In early June, Honomobo put its design concept on display at Churchill Square. They have already sold 17 shipping container homes in Edmonton and have received inquiries from 60 countries.
READ MORE: Shipping containers transformed into tiny homes in Phoenix
“Council in 2010 approved a master plan for the Boyle Renaissance. We’ve been following that plan as much as we could with the state of the economy and the finances available and we’re pretty pleased with this project,” Trocenko told Global News on Thursday.
Construction on the project is expected to be complete by next spring.