Moving into Waterloo Region’s shipping container apartments has been beset with problems

CAMBRIDGE - Anita Dunk-Clarke was thrilled when she was offered the chance to move in to a brand-new apartment that would charge rent according to what she was able to pay.

The Cambridge woman, who uses a walker and scooter, moved at the beginning of March into one of two accessible units in the six-unit complex, which is one of the most unusual in Waterloo Region.

The six seniors' apartments are built out of 16 repurposed steel shipping containers, which allowed regional housing officials to build the units very quickly.

The Region unveiled the units, built by NOW Housing with the help of a $1.3 million federal grant, with great hoopla in late February, with a virtual open house and two videos.

But the homes, built on regional land at 127-161 Bechtel St. next to an existing regional housing project, have had growing pains. Residents still have no internet or cable, some apartments have had leaks, a safety bar in the shower in one unit fell off.

Everybody has issues here," she said. Everybody."

Most challenging for Dunk-Clarke has been the 480-square-foot apartment's lack of storage.

I am very thankful to (Waterloo Region) housing for giving me this opportunity to get out of a full-market-rent place," she said. To be honest, I just struggled. The rent always had to come first."

But the tiny unit has very little room to store even basic everyday items. Dunk-Clarke is getting rid of things she doesn't need, and has improvised some shelving with crates and boxes. But her tiny unit is crammed with her belongings, piled high in boxes and bins, and the apartment feels chaotic.

I feel like I'm living in the Sandford and Son' junkyard," she said, referring to the 1970s sitcom about a junk dealer.

I like my place clean, and I like it organized. When I've got to wake up to this every morning, it's very overwhelming," she said. It's like, Where do I start?' "

The kitchen has no counter space, and just three cupboards, 56 centimetres wide by 27 cm, and just 28 cm deep, all high on the wall above the fridge and stove, unreachable for anyone in a wheelchair. A larger cupboard above the microwave is taken up with a water heater. The bathroom has no cupboard, vanity or even a medicine cabinet to store her medications and toiletries.

There's no room for the ordinary items of everyday life, she says. I've got a coffee-maker. I've got a toaster. I have pots and pans. I'm a normal person, just like everybody else. I have things. There's no place for anything here."

On her disability pension - she suffers from severe arthritis - she can't really afford to buy shelving, and doesn't understand why it wasn't included in the unit.

Regional housing staff say glitches are to be expected on a new project.

The funding required two of the units to be accessible, with a clear path to all rooms and enough space to allow a wheelchair to turn around, said Amy Osika, the manager of Waterloo Region Housing.

Making the bathroom bigger to accommodate a wheelchair meant the kitchen had to be smaller, she said. In order for a wheelchair to access the kitchen appliances and sink, the lower cabinets were also removed, which reduced the number of cabinets and drawers available for storage.

We are working with each tenant individually to find solutions that work to meet their individual needs."

Housing staff have been sympathetic, Dunk-Clarke said. They have provided tenants with a $100 gift card to compensate for the delays getting internet and cable, and have told her they will buy an island shelf unit for the kitchen.

The bedroom is so small a wheelchair-bound person wouldn't have room to make the bed, or close the blinds properly, she said. The project feels like it was designed without considering residents' practical needs, Dunk-Clarke said.

If the Region is thinking of doing another similar project, she says, Hopefully they think things through a bit more."

Catherine Thompson is a Waterloo Region-based reporter focusing on urban affairs for The Record. Reach her via email: cthompson@therecord.com