Salt Lake City shipping container apartments’ opening delayed

Salt Lake City, Utah — The shortage of materials is the main reason for the delayed opening of affordable apartments in a six-story building made out of recycled shipping containers.

According to Rod Newman, Eco Box Fabricators, a delay in getting roofing materials and an elevator have pushed back the opening to the end of the year. The project called Box 500 had been scheduled to open over the summer in Salt Lake City with affordable rents.

The shipping container apartments are not the only housing development facing delays in Salt Lake City. The COVID-19 pandemic has caused global supply change problems.

“In the (housing) market, we’re seeing shortages across the board,” Orion Goff, deputy director of the Department of Community and Neighborhoods, told The Salt Lake Tribune.

The shipping container building when completed will have 48 studio apartments, 18 one-bedroom, and 17 two-bedroom apartments. Studious is 320 square feet (30 square meters), while one- and two-bedrooms are about 640 square feet (60 square meters).

According to Amanda Best, a specialist with the city’s housing development program, rents will range from $829 to $1,204 a month based on income.