Excerpts from ‘Shipping containers to be Vancouver housing’, CBC 5 Apr 2011 –
“Vancouver will soon see a new type of social housing for disadvantaged women — an apartment complex made out of shipping containers.
The structure — the first of its kind in Canada — will occupy a currently empty lot at Jackson Avenue and Alexander Street in the Downtown Eastside.
Vancouver city councillor Kerry Jang supports the project, as long as the units are liveable. “This is an issue I’ve been very concerned about [is] liveability. I mean, as soon as you say the word ‘container,’ people think you’re just warehousing people.”
Despite the concept, residents won’t feel boxed in, said project supervisor James Weldon. [haha -ed.]
Commenters point out that similar conversions have been done for $10K per unit, and surmise that the $85K must include land value. But perhaps not. Is the city selling or leasing the land on which they are built?
A quick search for ‘$85K, Florida’ came up with this, the first RE hit, we’re sure there are hundreds of other examples:
12 Sep 2010: 1216 Oregon St, Orlando, FL 3280, $85K
Yes, a short sale/foreclosure, but, you get the idea.
We in Vancouver are so brainwashed by $1M, $1.5M, $3M handles on RE that $85K for a 320sqft pre-fab unit in the DTES starts sounding like a deal.
Everything in Vancouver and vicinity is screamingly overvalued. – vreaa