TUCSON, AZ — Could the cargo containers from then Governor Doug Ducey’s improvised border wall become places to live for low-income people living in Tucson?
That’s a possibility the City of Tucson may work to encourage.
The raw materials for this idea come from the roughly 2,000 shipping containers then Governor Doug Ducey stacked on the border as an immigration barrier. After the Federal government claimed that was trespassing and sued, the big boxes came down and went into storage.
Now the state is offering the containers at a deep discount to local government and to non-profits, with the hope they can become places to live for low-income people.
In Tucson, a non-profit called Boxes of Hope is working towards turning bare steel into comfortable little homes.
Ward Three Councilmember Kevin Dahl supports the idea and wants to look into other simple ways to get people placed to live.
“At the last city council, we talked about the overall topic of tiny homes which includes container homes and includes these micro shelters with basically sleeping pods eight by eight that you put in the community and you have communal restrooms and kitchens and storage. We're looking at everything that makes sense for us to do to make it easier for these things to happen.”
To get an idea of day-to-day life in converted containers we visited the MSA Annex in Tucson’s Mercado District. These containers house businesses.
At Decibel Coffee, Ian Rose says working in a converted container feels about the same as any building.
“Not much different at all. It feels like another home, essentially.”
KGUN reporter Craig Smith asked: “So what did you think when you knew you were going to be working in something like this?
Rose: “I like the aesthetics of it. They look really cool. And they function just like any other building would.”
Rose says he’s really concerned about housing for low-income people and would like to see more affordable options.
Councilmember Dahl says now the Boxes of Hope plan depends on fundraising and on finding the right land, ideally near bus lines and critical resources like grocery stores.
