Affordable Glendale housing community that turns shipping containers into homes under construction

PHOENIX — As homelessness rises across the Valley, one nonprofit is adopting a radical solution to create affordable housing faster and cheaper than traditional methods.

Family Promise of Greater Phoenix, which has been working to support unhoused people in the metro area for over 25 years, is transforming overseas shipping containers into fully furnished homes in Glendale.

The six units, located near 59th Street and Bethany Home Road, are part of a new affordable housing project called Legacy Village.

“We’re using shipping containers because it’s a cheap and easy way to throw up homes for people in need to live in as quickly as possible,” the nonprofit’s CEO, Ted Taylor, told KTAR News 92.3 FM on Thursday. “Not only do we pay less for the containers, but they’re manufactured in a factory environment.”

New affordable housing project in Phoenix metro features repurposed shipping containers

This factory-based process allows for a quicker turnaround than traditional home construction. Taylor explained that the shipping container units are assembled onsite, which speeds up the overall construction process.

“They’re not put together till they’re onsite, but that speed saves money,” Taylor said. “So if you look at the actual cost of this construction, the homes themselves, on average, cost just barely over $100,000 dollars.”

The housing units are created by fusing two shopping containers together. I was lucky enough to get a rundown of how it works behind the scenes. pic.twitter.com/tCa7jJ3U6n

— Serena O’Sullivan 🌻 (@Serenaeosully) December 19, 2024

Each unit in the affordable housing project is made from two shipping containers, and it takes about three months to produce each half of the unit, according to Taylor.

“If you compare that to any two bedroom apartment built in bricks and mortar – stucco or brick, it doesn’t matter – they’re going to be over $300,000,” Taylor said. “In most cases, over $400,000 per door in the valley. So, we built them at a much lower cost, yet we built them commercial grade.”

The Legacy Village community is being developed in an area with some of the highest eviction filing rates in metro Phoenix.

According to data from Eviction Lab, 2,563 eviction filings have been recorded in the 85301 zip code since December 1, 2023.

What do shipping container housing units in Glendale affordable housing project look like?

The community will serve as a transitional housing option, acting as a bridge between temporary shelter and permanent housing.

Here’s what the inside of one of these housing units looks like: pic.twitter.com/2aRm0Drj8g

— Serena O’Sullivan 🌻 (@Serenaeosully) December 19, 2024

Each 650-square-foot unit within the affordable housing project is created by joining two containers together to form a two-bedroom apartment.

The interiors of these containers are stripped and refurbished. They’re then fully furnished with IKEA furniture and appliances to create modern, functional spaces with kitchens and living rooms.

“We asked IKEA to let their best designers sit with us to design the interiors of these units,” Taylor said. “We’ve tried other furniture. We can’t get them to last as long.”

Each of the six housing units have a deep living room one enters upon opening the front door with a table, sink, refrigerator, a cupboard and drying rack for dishes.

Colorful art decorates the walls to liven up the living spaces. There are also separate bathrooms and bedrooms.

Unlike other shipping container residences, the affordable housing units in Legacy Village have windows. There’s also a small opening at the bottom of each unit’s front door that looks like a small doggy door upon first glance — but actually serves a unique purpose.

“Containers are built to last a long time and we didn’t realize when we designed these units that the containers were so tight that when we put air conditioners on them, they created pressure, so we had to actually ventilate these units periodically,” Taylor said. “You see a ventilation door; it’s a little bitty flap that allows the air to come in or out based on the pressure in the unit.”

Construction underway on affordable housing project: Legacy Village in Glendale

As of Friday, the ground at Legacy Village was still a mix of dirt and holes, with construction crews walking around setting up ladders and installing solar panels on the six housing units’ roofs.

Upon completion, though, the dirt will be replaced by artificial turf, and flower pots will decorate the doors of each unit. A metal pergola with a built-in light at the center of the community will provide ample shade during Phoenix’s trademark heat waves.

“It just provides a really nice social space,” Taylor said of the central space sitting between the front doors of the different housing units. “We’ve done this at our other campuses where families want to gather; they want to talk … that’s what it’s going to be like in this courtyard.

At the heart of the development’s design is the desire to make families feel safe, Taylor said.

“Even though it’s made out of containers that some people may think are rough, it’s going to be a beautiful space with a beautiful turf,” Taylor said.

He added that the affordable housing project will also include a spacious play area with a basketball court.

“It’s going to be a place where children can run and play and not worry. That’s a part of why we do this. We want the families to not only be together; we want them to feel safe.”

Through this stable and safe foundation, families will be able to transition successfully into more permanent housing options, he added.

How will shipping container village help Phoenix families transition out of homelessness?

Tenants of the affordable housing project will pay rent through what Taylor describes as a sliding scale.

“Most families, when they come out of shelter, have very limited resources, so we limit the cost of the units to them,” Taylor said. “They’ve got to save as much money as possible.”

The issue is exacerbated due to the fact that most new housing development cater to middle and higher income people, he added.

To help financially struggling families in Phoenix get back on their feet, the nonprofit asks Legacy Village tenants to adhere to savings requirements.

“So, 80% of their net income has to go into savings, and it’s our way of helping them progress to the next step,” Taylor said.

This next step would families who graduate from Legacy Village to the nonprofit’s bridge housing community near ASU SkySong.

“Those units are more expensive and they, in our experience, are something that families want to move into,” Taylor said. “So we slide that scale based on their progression in the system that … we’ve created.”

From there, Phoenix metro families experiencing homelessness are put on a pathway to market rate housing. But it will all start as Legacy Village, which will serve as an approachable, cost-efficient and affordable way for families to start off on the road of success, Taylor said.

He expects the affordable housing project units to be done by either the end of December or January.