Atira Women’s Resource Society’s proposal to build a seven-storey building constructed with shipping containers goes to an open house March 2.
The project at 420 Hawks Ave. would create 26 social housing units — 20 studios and six two-bedroom suites — for women and children.
Atira completed a 12-unit complex made from shipping containers at 502 Alexander St. in 2013.
Janice Abbott, the non-profit organization’s CEO, said the Hawks Avenue site is ideal because it’s close to parks, a school and a community centre.
It’s also next to the Rice Block, a 38-unit single-room occupancy hotel for women that Atira has run since 2007. The Rice Block has two staff who work 24-7.
“So if there’s a crisis or issues in the building, there’s staff readily accessible,” she said.
The previous owner of the Hawks Avenue property sold it to Atira at a significant discount in 2009. It’s zoned light industrial so it must be rezoned for the project to go ahead.
Abbott anticipates the cost per unit will be between $76,000 and $80,000, about the same as Atira’s first shipping container building.
“Keep in mind, we’re really at the preliminary stages. We don’t know if this design is going to be approved. There could be other costs associated with this process. We just don’t know yet. It’s really early,” she said.
While it’s believed to be cheaper to build using shipping containers than with traditional materials, Abbott cautions the organization has only completed one project.
“It was definitely cheaper, but it’s hard to base future projects of these kinds of buildings based on just one project,” she said. “What we hope to do with this second project, and we’re thinking about a third project now, is demonstrate that this kind of construction is less expensive and solid. But we need to do more than one project to be able to say that with any kind of authority.”
Abbott said it’s too early to talk about the details or exact location of the third project under consideration. She was meeting with city staff about it this week to see what was possible because it’s such a tiny parcel of land. It would be a partnership with a private owner who doesn’t live in Vancouver. He inherited a small lot in the Downtown Eastside from his grandfather.
He approached Atira about the possibility of a container housing project on the site.
As for the Hawks Avenue project, Abbott said Atira hasn’t detected any major opposition, but she has spoken to members of the Strathcona Residents’ Association, who indicated they want commercial space in the building to create a more vibrant, animated shopping district around Hastings Street.
“Which we hadn’t considered, but we’re certainly open to looking at,” Abbott said.
Atira held a preliminary open house about plans for the Hawks Avenue site last summer in the courtyard of the Alexander Street complex, which attracted about 40 people who were 100 per cent in favour of the proposal, according to Abbott.
“People may have some feelings about the design, but we’ve had a lot of positive feedback. There are folks who absolutely love [shipping container buildings].
I’ve heard a lot from those folks who are excited that we’re doing another project and supportive, but I’m sure the community will have some concerns. This is the first go at the open house and the first time they’ll see the design.”
Atira earned a $200,000 development grant from Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation in 2010, which is funding the preliminary design work. Atira still has to put together the remaining funding for the project if it’s approved.
“We will definitely finance part of it. We have a fairly substantial grant from a European-based foundation and we’re looking at a couple of other grant opportunities from a couple of local foundations. I’m not going to mention them because they haven’t committed and I don’t want to put them on the spot,” Abbott explained.
After the open house, the project will have to go before the Urban Design Panel as part of the rezoning process.
Abbott expects the rezoning will take about 10 months, during which time Atira will have to secure grants and financing.
The open house is at the Ukrainian Cultural Centre, 805 East Pender St., from 5 to 8 p.m., March 2.
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