What would Nashville look like with more shipping container districts?

Earlier this week, we caught wind of Recess, a new shipping container project coming to SoBro. The open-air space is expected to boast restaurants, bars, and live entertainment and will be completely surrounded by metal shipping bins stacked up to 5 levels.

The same concept opened last summer in Chicago with 14,500 sqft of outdoor dining + the Nashville version would be one of the first of its kind locally. While these projects are not common in Music City yet, the trend is even gaining momentum in smaller cities like Lakeland, FL and Asheville, NC (👋 LALtoday + AVLtoday).

This begs the question: If shipping container commercial districts find success in other cities, will we start seeing more projects pop up in Nashville? As the cost of lumber continues to rise, it’s possible developers will look for creative solutions, one of them being repurposed shipping bins.

If you’re as intrigued by this concept as we are, let's admire a few shipping container structures around town leading the trend.

Retail at oneC1TY
oneC1TY’s mini retail district is known as Nashville’s first commercial project that’s built from shipping containers. The West Nashville mixed-use center was constructed using 21 shipping containers and is home to Avo, KOKOS Ice Cream, SandBar Nashville, and other businesses.

83 Freight in Wedgewood-Houston | Photo by NASHtoday team

83 Freight
This new 83-unit apartment complex in Wedgewood-Houston is made up of 173 upcycled freight shipping containers. The 3-building community features a mix of studio, 1-bedroom, and 2-bedroom apartments + sustainable amenities like on-site recycling and community greenspace.

Nashville “Modern Shipping Container Home”
Aside from 83 Freight, shipping container homes are hard to come by in Music City. This 3-bedroom Airbnb located near First Horizon Park is built from shipping container materials and accommodates up to 8 guests.

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