Kansas City’s first container house is located at 59th and Charlotte in KCMO, and is on the market for $849,000.
The single-family home is made out of five shipping containers, totaling 2,600 square feet. The contemporary design features two bedrooms and three bathrooms.
It is also eco-friendly and energy-efficient, including landscaping that is completely edible.
It was designed and built by Debbie Glassberg in partnership with BNIM in 2009.
Glassberg used to work in the toy industry, specifically with Polly Pockets. She told 41 Action News that designing the tiny homes for the dolls inspired an interest in shipping container homes because she loved figuring out how to fit as much as possible into a small space.
Glassberg also said she likes shipping container homes because they’re like a “closed envelope.” Unlike traditional homes, there’s not a lot of repair work that has to be done on the outside. In addition, they are easy to move with belongings already inside, so they act as turn-key houses.
Glassberg and BNIM are also working on new shipping container homes closer to downtown KC, on a one-acre piece of land in the Washington Wheatley neighborhood.
She said this development will focus more on community creation. She is targeting millennial buyers who haven’t bought into the market yet.
The new homes will have two bedrooms and two baths, totaling 930 square feet. There will be seven homes on the property that will resemble two-story studio apartments. They will sell for between $150,000 and $250,000.
Glassberg said building these homes has been a learning process as she continues to improve her designs. Her goal is to be able to offer high-end living at an affordable price.
Her home in Brookside may not be on the market for long. Glassberg moved to L.A. but said she may be back in Kansas City soon.
