Freight Yard brings growing shipping container design trend to All Saints District

Clarification: The majority of the Freight Yard project will consist of 30 recycled shipping containers, which includes the micro apartments but not the macro units. The shipping containers will not be used for the existing structures on the property. 

When Nick Renfro lived in Tallahassee, he wasn't into the typical college club scene that thrives on the Tennessee Street strip. He found his tribe sipping fresh roasted coffee and micro brews in the eclectic All Saints District. 

The neighborhood, sandwiched between Florida State and Florida A&M universities off Rail Road Avenue, boasts distinctive graffiti-inspired murals and colorful splashes of public art. It's a place for art lovers and progressive thinking.

For Renfro, it felt like home, but in 2016, after two years in Tallahassee, he moved away for work. The 23-year-old recently was planning another relocation — this time to Denver — when he caught wind of the Freight Yard, a new development in the enclave that's re-purposing old shipping containers into apartments.

The funky new housing option was enough to entice him into giving Tallahassee another go.

"I thought how perfect it would be to live there,” said Renfro, who intends to apply for a lease. "To live there, it would be really cool.”

The Freight Yard will feature two types of units, luxury macro apartments of about 700 square feet dubbed "roomies" by developer Paul Bradshaw, and 160 square-foot micro apartments called "cozies."

The majority of the project will consist of 30 recycled shipping containers, which includes the micro apartments but not the macro units. 

The bigger units will rent for $1,400 a month and the furnished smaller ones will go for $700 a month and both options will include utilities and WiFi. The project's 12 macro apartments will be ready for occupancy by August, Bradshaw said. 

The Freight Yard's shipping container architecture is common in Europe and is catching on in the U.S. — even in places such as Florida, which lack a history of industrial architecture. 

"So, containers are viable ways of creating this type of alternative space that has a patina of history," said Stephen Bender, a professor at University of Florida's School of Architecture an expert in utilizing shipping containers. 

Bender is working on a project in the artsy Northwood District of West Palm Beach that will be the largest shipping container "upcycling" project in the country with 50 artist units. He said alternative markets are ideal spaces for shipping container housing. 

A recent request to modify the Freight Yard's permit for additional units and minor modifications was approved by the city's Growth Management Department. Once the macro units are done, work will begin on the project's courtyard and commercial space. The micro units are slated to be ready by August 2020. 

Bradshaw hopes to pique the interest of young professionals, graduate students and millennials looking to live green and be in the heart of a district with its own identity (in the neighborhood signs read, "keep All Saints odd.") 

Each unit will be powered by solar panels and controlled by voice activation and smart connections. An "Alexa" command will control window shades, locks and the unit's thermostat. Residents will receive a text message when clothes are done in the washer and dryer. 

There'll be valet trash service and flat screen televisions in the larger luxury units. Custom European cabinetry will be another nod to high quality and attention to detail. The outdoor common area will include a courtyard with a climbing wall and commercial space for a coffee shop and restaurant near a mural on the facade.

Bradshaw said there are other shipping container housing developments that have solar power, common areas and micro apartments, but his is different. 

"There is no project that has done the mash up that contains all of those elements,” he said. "It will be fun and a cool place to hang out."

On Monday, Michael Nazareth couldn't say enough about the project. He and his twin brother, Matthew Nazareth, own Serenity Coffee, just a stone's throw away from the Freight Yard.  

He suspects the development will be in high demand. It’s everything a young professional and a millennial wants, Nazareth said. The housing doesn't feel like something shoehorned into the district, but rather fits in. 

“He’s not trying to build a money-maker or build a normal apartment complex,” Nazareth said. “I think he truly is trying to build a community, and he’s just trying to provide housing for it.”

It's the first time the Tallahassee-based firm Conn Architects has taken on a shipping container project. The firm is behind major projects like The Edison at Cascades Park and the Gateway Center project at the Monroe and Tennessee streets. 

The Freight Yard's design is a fascinating use of space, said Brad Kirn, the project architect. He said residents who want to live there are going to be interested in reducing their carbon footprint and will want to access things on foot. 

The units will be a four-minute walk from FAMU and FSU and eight minutes from Cascades Park. It'll take five minutes to walk to state offices and less than a minute to get to Domi Station, the city's first community incubator for startups. 

"It’s close to everything. When it comes down to location, location, location, this development has it all,” Kirn said. "The unique factor is the fact that there’s nothing else like it in Tallahassee."

Contact TaMaryn Waters at tlwaters@tallahassee.com or follow @TaMarynWaters on Twitter.