A shipping container rental property is the first of its kind in Calgary
CBC
When Laurenne Mercier was looking to move into her own place in early 2021, she knew that renting a full-sized house would be too much space for her. Then, the perfect property fell into her lap.
Mercier's mother was out walking in her neighborhood of Killarney when she saw a rental advertisement on what looked like a compact apartment on top of a garage.
What she spotted, and what Mercier shortly moved into, was none other than Calgary's first laneway house built from shipping containers, or sea cans.
Chad Saunders, the owner of the property, said he had long considered building a live-in suite on top of his detached garage.
"The inspiration was, how can we maximize value in our yard without taking away the yard?" said Saunders, who's noticed a trend of infills in the neighborhood, something he said he wasn't interested in.
Saunders said he wanted tenants to be able to feel like the space was their own, while also having access to the family's shared backyard.
"You wouldn't guess, being inside, that it's [made from] sea cans" said Mercier. "Everyone that goes inside always says it's way bigger than [they] expected."
Making sure the laneway house fits architecturally into the neighborhood is a big part of what gives the property curb appeal, said Saunders.
"Instead of just sticking like sea cans on top of a flat roof, we did the roofing to accommodate. It looks like our house, so it kind of blends in," he said.
Saunders also said that charging a fair rental price was important to him.
Many Calgarians are feeling the crunch of the city's red-hot housing market. Mercier says that the affordability of the laneway house was one of many reasons she felt it was the right move.
"I love the area and I love that it's residential but still close to downtown," Mercier said.
"Killarney is basically infills and [family] homes. That's what makes this such a unique space, is that it's essentially a one-bedroom apartment in a place that really doesn't have many."
The laneway house is built from three separate shipping containers, and was completely fabricated on site, said Saunders.
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