Shipping containers House

Developer David Herman plans to build 17 homes using the containers in Garden City.

Shannon Camp, KTVB

This artist's rendering shows what the development of container homes in Garden City is expected to look like. (Photo: Custom)

GARDEN CITY – The 1.2 acre lot across from the fairgrounds in Garden City may not look like much now, but soon it will be the site of 17 homes all constructed out materials from an unlikely source, steel shipping containers that were once used to carry cargo overseas.

At the Remington Container subdivision in Garden City, developer David Herman is taking recycling to a new level.

“This model allows you to have a very high-quality structure with longevity at a good, entry level price, ” said Herman.

The plan take is to take four steel shipping containers, stack them and turn them into a 1, 400 square-foot house. Herman says the idea was inspired by houses he saw in Brooklyn that were built in the 1800s and have stood the test of time.

“The combination of the 16-foot model and the ability to use a site like this and have a neighborhood, ” said Herman.

The shipping containers that Herman will use have only carried one load of cargo.

All 17 houses on the site will have identical floor plans – built two containers wide and two containers tall on top of a concrete base with a one-car garage.

“A lot of people my age and a lot of younger people too, they want their houses to be low maintenance, ” said Herman.

The target price of the homes is $150, 000. But Herman said that the quality of the materials in these containers far exceeds what you'll find in other houses this price.

“There's no reason that these would need anything significant to happen to them in 100 years, ” said Herman.

Construction on the container houses will begin in the spring. Herman says he has already had a lot of inquiries from people interested in efficient, innovative homes that are also affordable.