DAYTONA BEACH — When you think of affordable housing, you probably picture no-frills apartments, 1,200-square-foot houses in impoverished neighborhoods and tiny homes.
Here's what's probably not on your radar: houses made out of recycled shipping containers. floor building design
A company called SnapSpace Solutions has been turning shipping containers into houses, stores, bathrooms, multi-family structures, kitchens, medical facilities and even pools for the past 18 years.
One of the Maine-based company's signature products is small, affordable houses made out of the containers, and they're hoping to see them start popping up in Daytona Beach.
In addition to selling container homes in Daytona, SnapSpace Solutions would also like to manufacture its container buildings in the city or somewhere else in Volusia County.
On Wednesday night, the company's CEO and founder, Chad Walton, gave a presentation to city commissioners on what his company does and what it could do to help with Daytona Beach's large need for affordable housing.
Commissioners didn't commit to anything, but they seemed interested and said they want city staff members to look more closely into developing container homes in Daytona Beach.
"I feel like it's a reasonable option," said Mayor Derrick Henry. "I want to see us try this."
Walton recently moved to Daytona Beach's Latitude Margaritaville 55-and-older community, and he opened an office for SnapSpace Solutions at 800 S. Nova Road in Ormond Beach. He would also like to build a factory in Volusia County, but he doesn't have a site yet.
He started his company in 2005, and he has since expanded to two manufacturing facilities in Maine, one in Connecticut, one in Rhode Island and one in South Carolina.
SnapSpace maintains that its buildings are eco-friendly and customizable to fit a vast array of needs. The shipping containers have also been used to build concession stands, houseboats, refrigeration units, offices, college dorms, storage units, security buildings, hunting cabins, commercial kitchens, vacation homes, and disaster relief structures.
The walls can be curved if someone doesn't want a boxy structure, and the containers can be stacked and arranged in a variety of ways. Ceilings can be nearly 20 feet high.
The structures are typically placed on a concrete pad, but if one is being built in a flood-prone area, they can be elevated.
Walton said his company's buildings are all over the world, with units from the Cayman Islands to Saipan. Dozens of the containers were stacked on top of one another in Amsterdam to quickly provide 1,000 units of student housing.
The shipping container structures can be built much more quickly than a traditionally constructed building, and they can be flown to wherever they're needed with things like ovens and sinks already in them, SnapSpace officials say. They've been a valuable option after hurricanes, Walton said.
The company claims its buildings are "disaster resistant." Walton showed Daytona commissioners a picture of an area where shipping container buildings were the only structures left intact after a brutal hurricane tore through the Bahamas.
The costs for the final product vary widely. SnapSpace's website shows office space starting at $28,000, storage units available for $13,000, and swimming pools selling for $30,000.
A 320-square-foot efficiency container residential unit starts at $69,900. A 640-square-foot container home with two bedrooms, one bathroom, a galley kitchen, and laundry facilities starts at $139,900.
A 960-square-foot home made out of three containers with three bedrooms, two bathrooms, and laundry facilities begins at $199,900.
Commissioners talked about forming a public-private partnership with SnapSpace to create a few container homes in a test village, possibly on city land. But City Attorney Ben Gross said there might be a need to put such a venture out to bid.
Walton said as far as he knows there's only one other company in the United States, which is located in Texas, that makes structures out of shipping containers.
The container homes are allowed in Daytona Beach as long as they're located in an area with the proper zoning, said City Manager Deric Feacher. The structures would also have to meet a minimum square footage standard, said Deputy City Manager Jim Morris.
Daytona's affordable housing solution?:Container 'tiny' home proves to be a big draw at Daytona Beach Housing Fair
New affordable housing effort:Florida's new affordable housing law strips power from local government officials
City Commissioner Quanita May suggested Walton come before city commissioners. She said the response from some local residents who have learned about the container homes has been "fantastic." She hopes more people are intrigued enough to check them out as an option.
Henry said he ultimately wants city staff to come up with a menu of options for affordable housing in Daytona Beach.
Walton told commissioners he'd like to help the city increase its affordable housing supply.
"I know it's a big issue," he said. "We've come up with some models that can help with that a lot."
Ceramic Tile You can reach Eileen at Eileen.Zaffiro@news-jrnl.com