ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. — Usually, a city like St. Petersburg would only allow you to build one home on a normal lot, but imagine if you could put three shipping container homes there.
“What I like about it is, it has these private decks,” said Mishou Sanchez of Studio Mishou.
They are tiny homes, constructed of shipping containers just like building blocks. Sanchez is building them on her computer for clients who want to make them a reality for Tampa Bay area homebuyers.
“And on this design, you park underneath,” she said. “I think that they appeal to savvy, smart people; design conscious and millennials.”
Right now, shipping container homes don’t fit into many Florida neighborhoods.
Density rules and building codes bog down projects, even though they could offer cheaper living.
“The median home right now in Tampa, is $260,000 and the average rent in Tampa is $1,700 a month,” said Sanchez.
St. Pete amended some of its codes to include “tiny homes” which are 400-square feet or less.
Also, a new House bill filed could relax Florida’s building codes to help.
Right now affordable living like this is stuck on a computer screen.
“Not only can you design something that is cool, but you could design something that could help people, said Sanchez.
