Want to live or work in a shipping container? Unusual idea is sailing into this NC port city

Developers are planning to bring some of this city’s port qualities a little farther ashore.

The Cargo District, billed as a “shipping container village,” plans to open in August in downtown Wilmington. The development plans to incorporate shipping containers into modern apartments, live-work units, co-working spaces, a food truck park and a mix of retail pop-ups.

The early concept for the mixed-use development was featured by WilmingtonBiz early last year.

Its first mention as The Cargo District came from the same group in May. The development is a collaboration between Leslie Smith and Bryan Kristof.

Coworx, a coworking space owned by Kristof, and SISDigital are the first businesses to join the community.

“It’s something that’s fun,” Kristof told WWAY. “We’re upcycling so we’re kind of repurposing something that otherwise, you know, probably just would never have had a second life.”

The development has drawn renewed attention after sharing conceptual plans with Wilmington’s planning department earlier this month.

The Star News reported the district will eventually hold 50 apartments, and that nine apartments with offices could be complete by the fall.

The Cargo District isn’t alone in its interest in repurposing the containers. Another company, Australian-based Contained, turns them into “contemporary offices, and entertainment units: bars, restaurants, boutiques and recreation.”

This story was originally published July 28, 2017 at 3:37 PM with the headline "Want to live or work in a shipping container? Unusual idea is sailing into this NC port city."