Containers for a Cause open house

After converting a former shipping container into a unique, modern living space, Flagler College Students in Free Enterprise and LOCI Design will show off the innovative project at a community preview, Brian Thompson told Historic City News.

“What we want to show are the many uses for an old, throw-away container,” said SIFE co-advisor Barry Sand about the project, “Containers for a Cause.” “We want to introduce people to the versatility – that it can be used for anything from a place to live to a unique workspace.”

The converted container will eventually be delivered to 27-year-old Ray Anderson Jr., a quadriplegic man who lives in Hastings.

Ten million shipping containers arrive in United States ports every year, and about 3 million are left to rust in salvage yards. But Sand said there are limitless possibilities for adapting the sturdy, cheap and portable containers into a variety of new uses.

For the past year, SIFE along with community organizations and local businesses, have helped to transform the rusting steel container – once used to transport goods overseas and across highways. The renovated container now includes a kitchenette, bathroom and a bedroom.

“This wasn’t just Flagler College,” said Donna Delorenzo, co-advisor to Flagler SIFE. “It was the cooperation of the whole community from the St. Johns County Sheriff’s Office to the St. Johns County Housing Partnership to PQH Architects to the Hastings Youth Academy. So many businesses and individual volunteers pitched in.”

The open house will take place at the southwest parking lot of the St. Augustine Record, on the corner of SR-207 and SR-312, on Friday, September 9th from 1:00 p.m. to 6:00 p.m., and, on Saturday, September 10th from 10:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m.

Photo credits: © 2011 Historic City News contributed photograph by Flagler SIFE