As 2018 is unfolding, the affordable housing crisis infecting central Florida has come to a head. With thousands fleeing Puerto Rico and the rapid growth of Orlando, something must be done. Shipping container housing offers a swift solution to our affordable housing crisis. Last year the Sentinel reported on Crisis Housing Solutions wanting to build a shipper container apartment complex in metro Orlando. However, with the recent influx of citizens fleeing Puerto Rico, I think with some community teamwork we could do one better and come close to building an entire mini-district in under a year.

Consider these two factors. First, repurposed shipping container housing can be built quickly and at a reduced cost in comparison to conventional, affordable housing. Secondly, these repurposed shipping containers could be adapted into mixed-use properties, something Downtown Orlando is continually trying to build. Although Crisis Housing Solution says they are trying to construct three-story apartments there is precedence around the world for creating four-story mixed-use shipping container housing.

This means the housing could be adapted to the long-term redevelopment plan the city adopted in 2015. An area such as Grove Park Drive a block north of the Orlando City Stadium, which is zoned to be four stories or higher, can easily meet code. Furthermore, these communities could be used as incubators for the Puerto Rican population with families living on the top floors and businesses, helped along by the Hispanic Chamber of Commerce and other entities, on the ground floor.

These shipping containers also provide an opportunity to create a style unique to Orlando in addition to assisting those in need. Imagine this community of mixed-use apartments with art on the side of the buildings by Puerto Rican artists and maybe even a community garden in partnership with the non-for-profit Fleet Farming. Ideally, this would provide a community farm, cheap affordable housing, an influx of new businesses, and could be used create a new neighborhood with a unique identity like Castro in San Francisco or Calle 8 in Miami.

Of course, this means the City and the organizations I mentioned (Crisis Housing Solution, Hispanic Chamber of Commerce, and Fleet Farming) need to partner up and aid in acquiring land and funds. Crisis Housing Solution is currently trying to raise $5 million for a 50-home community. To make it mixed-use would require more funds.

The second issue would require the acquisition of more land. Undeveloped or zoned to be redeveloped areas like Grove Park Drive; the lot (that several years ago was slated to be turned into a mixed-use building area as I propose) across from Venue; the empty lot by Cowboys in Paramore; or even as an improvement project on the Griffin Park Housing project are all prime for this. However, none as far as I'm aware have been offered up as a possible location.

With an election season approaching and a sizeable new electorate taking shape, I don't think $5 million is much to ask from those with extensive pockets and a heart that is ready to assist those in need. Furthermore, a lot of these areas have become all talk no action or just lay empty in the name of greed as those suffering continue their troubled journey.

If the Orlando Magic, Orlando City, Dr. Philips Charities, and others joined together to help start the process to end this damaging shortage of affordable housing and aid a population in need, then building a mini-district in a short span of time is well within this communities’ abilities. It is our civic duty as a community to provide for the less fortunate. As a community, it would benefit us all economically and otherwise to undertake such a project. Besides wouldn't it be nice if Orlando lead the way for a change?