An Edmonton company is showing off the city's newest apartment units — which are actually made of repurposed shipping containers.
Built by Ladacor Advanced Modular Systems, the shipping containers were brought to Calgary from the West Coast to be repurposed, and then sent to Edmonton for assembly into a fully functional apartment building, according to Global News.
Renting a one-bedroom apartment in the 20-unit building will cost $1,275 per month, while a two-bedroom is $1,395, according to its listing.
The new building is three storeys high and required 48 shipping containers, according to CBC News. It will be located at an infill site near the existing Westgate Manor in West Edmonton.
AJ Slivinski, owner of Step Ahead Properties, which worked with Ladacor, told Global News people seem impressed and surprised by how the units are turning out.
"I think their first words out of their mouth is, 'We didn't really visualize this.' And I think they come to the realization that whether it's shipping container or [a house built on-site], there is no difference," he said.
The website for the new building boasts that it's environmentally friendly, sound-insulated and more fireproof than traditional buildings, because its frame is made of the shipping container's steel instead of wood.
Slivinski also said the shipping container complex is built much faster — three to four months — than constructing a traditional apartment building, which takes between 12 to 18 months.
While the apartment building is the first of its kind in Edmonton, there have been other shipping container projects in Alberta including several homes built to replace those lost in the Fort McMurray wildfires.
The Globe and Mail reported a "mini-boom" in shipping containers being marketed as laneway housing or backyard suites in Edmonton.
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