Can shipping containers be the next wave in affordable housing construction?
One real estate developer from The Bronx seems to think so.
Nyron Chin-Sang, founder of Gold Key Group and is from our borough, has partnered up with SG Blocks, a company that manufactures shipping containers, to explore the possibility of bringing an affordable housing development in the Northeast Bronx.
According to amNY, the development would create approximately 65-75 residential units above a church and a retail store but the location is undisclosed due to the fact that everything is exploratory at this point.
The article states: “He chose to work with SG Blocks because he was impressed by its affordability, quality and speed. Using shipping containers cuts construction time by 40 percent and is 10 to 20 percent less expensive than typical construction, according to Paul Galvin, the CEO of SG Blocks.”
But others, like Oksana Mironova, a housing policy analyst at Community Service Society, aren’t so sure that initial savings will lead to real long-term affordability for low income renters.
It will be interesting to see if such a development sprouts in The Bronx but even more interesting is to see if it will be truly affordable.