Twelve containers are dropped into place as construction begins on
Canada’s first multi-family recycled shipping container housing project.
Photo by Jason Payne, The Vancouver Sun
Adapted from The Vancouver Sun
Level 2
We have seen these huge boxes before.
They are large and strong. We call them containers.
These boxes are strong. They are made out of metal.
People use them for many things.
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A new use for containers
For the first time in Canada, 12 containers will become
something very different.
The big boxes will become new homes for women
in the Downtown Eastside of Vancouver.
Six of the containers will be for women over 55 years old.
The others will be new homes for younger women.
New apartments
Atira Women’s Resource Society owns the land for the new homes.
Other apartments for women are next door.
That project is called Imouto House.
Imouto means “little sister” in Japanese.
Women ages 16 to 24 stay there.
Atira hopes the older women will help the younger women.
The older women will become mentors.
How boxes become apartments
The new apartments will be in two parts.
Each part will be three containers high.
Each part will be two containers wide.
Each will have a bathroom, kitchen and laundry.
The homes will be warm. They will have windows.
And inside they will look and feel like real apartments.
Funding
The new homes will be ready in April.
Each woman will pay $375 rent.
The City of Vancouver gave money to the project.
Other groups also helped.
People donated four containers.
Two were donated during the Summer Olympics in 2010.
Later, other companies donated two more.
The Imouto House project paid for the other eight containers.
Each container cost the Imouto House $3,000 each.