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MIT Modular leaders give a tour of the company's Provo plant on Friday, May 12, 2023.

Courtesy Daniel Pugmire

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The living area in a single-wide container home on-site at MIT Modular is pictured Friday, May 12, 2023, during a tour of the company's Provo plant.

Courtesy Daniel Pugmire

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The Stanbridge project in Salt Lake City is a partnership between MIT Modular and NeighborWorks.

Courtesy MIT Modular

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The shower area of a bathroom in a MIT Modular build is pictured Friday, May 12, 2023, during a tour of the company's Provo plant.

Courtesy Daniel Pugmire

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MIT Modular co-owner Blake Christian talks with community leaders about housing opportunities utilizing shipping containers during a tour of the company's Provo plant on Friday, May 12, 2023.

Courtesy Daniel Pugmire

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The kitchen in a 40 foot by 8 foot container on-site at MIT Modular is pictured Friday, May 12, 2023, during a tour of the company's Provo plant.

Courtesy Daniel Pugmire

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Bunkbeds in a container home for an on-site work project by MIT Modular are pictured Friday, May 12, 2023, during a tour of the company's Provo plant.

Courtesy Daniel Pugmire

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The executive leadership of MIT Modular, from left: Roi Maufas, Dave Donaldson and Blake Christen.

Courtesy MIT Modular

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The Provo City Council on Tuesday will hear about the needs of affordable housing from the Food and Care Coalition, but the issue has been on local officials’ minds for much longer.

Two weeks ago, the affordable housing discussion included comments from city leaders and what it will take to alleviate the problem.

What must happen, explained Bill Peperone, Provo’s community development director, is that government bodies need to think outside the box, be willing to try rezoning and to not listen to the “not in my backyard” mentality.

Zoning for smaller lots is just one issue the council can change to help bring affordable housing to Provo and other cities in Utah County. Currently, there are 88 zones available in Provo and none of them allow for smaller lots sizes that would suit smaller affordable homes, according to Peperone. He would like to see that change.

The discussion of affordable housing isn’t just a Provo issue. Nearly every city, county and state are seeking answers to what can be done. The federal government is also looking at options.

While so many elected officials are talking about it, there are some developers and building companies doing something about it. However, without the right zones in place, they must seek out locales open to allowing pocket neighborhood projects and individual homes.

One such company is MIT Modular, which uses metal shipping containers to build everything from tiny homes to mansions, businesses and even surgical and emergency modules. While it is based in Provo, at the present time the company is relegated to building storage sheds. That is hopefully changing, according to Dave Donaldson, a vice president.

The shipping container home concept is not new, but in most places they are being used as Airbnb guest homes, onsite housing for work projects and tiny home accessory dwelling units in family backyards.

MIT Modular was started by Roi Maufas, a hurricane Katrina survivor who spent a period of time in homelessness. His partner Blake Christian and his opportunity zone team have been involved in the formation of more than 100 opportunity funds and 100 opportunity zone businesses operating in Provo and other cities in the county.

One of the company’s projects in the works in Salt Lake City, where two older homes on the west side that stood next to each other were demolished.

In a special NeighborWorks America project known as Stanbridge, MIT Modular will build 20 two-story homes on the properties, with green space for a playground and community gardens.

NeighborWorks is a national nonprofit organization created by Congress in 1978 to provide financial support, technical assistance and training for community-based revitalization efforts.

According to Christian, many areas are “behind on zoning, while technology is ahead.”

Maufas knows the security of having a home, and he said the strength and durability of container homes, which can withstand winds in excess of 180 mile per hour and 2.5 G-forces during a seismic event, is important.

“The human soul begins to understand hope,” Maufas said. “There is an energy around affordable housing.”

While affordable housing, low-income housing and housing the homeless are very different things, all can be adapted to shipping container living.

Affordability in Utah County means being able to pay for a $420,000 median-priced home on a person’s individual income or a couple’s joint income.

The United Way of Utah County’s 2022-2023 Community Assessment puts affordable housing at the top of the list for residents’ greatest needs, citing grown up children who are opting to live in a parent’s basement so they can live in Utah County, waiting to get enough money to purchase a home or until home prices fall.

On Friday, leaders from Provo, Orem, Vineyard, Springville and local nonprofits took a tour of the MIT Modular plant at 508 E. 900 South, where they heard about MIT projects, designs, opportunities and desires for the area and for those needing affordable homes.

Maufas also noted the need for transitional homes and women’s shelters. He said that a three-bedroom, two-bathroom home with land and fees could run as low at $250,000 or lower.

The MIT Modular slogan is “we can build that,” and at their plant you can see just what they have to offer.

Currently on site, they have two single container homes that are 8 feet by 40 feet, but the sky is the limit. In fact, containers can be stacked on top of each other, combining up to about eight containers overall. The homes can also be built on concrete basements, side-by-side or in a variety of configurations to meet family needs including Americans with Disabilities Act designs.

According to Donaldson, a single 40-foot container that is about 8.5 feet high all kitted out and ready to move in costs about $75,000.

“There are 37 million (empty) shipping containers in the U.S.,” Maufas said. “Our containers have been used once and have only carried textiles and electronics according to our contract.”

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