Despite being ‘a tricky one,’ City Council approves shipping container rezoning

Thanks to a unanimous Wichita City Council vote this week to approve his new SoCe shipping container development, where the majority of residents will be people aging out of foster care, an ebullient Abdul Arif said he’ll start construction within weeks.

“Making money and helping people are not mutually exclusive,” he said.

City Council member Mike Hoheisel, in whose district the small development just south of downtown will sit, acknowledged it wasn’t an easy vote or situation.

“This is a tricky one.”

A number of neighbors around the development, which is at 944 S. Topeka, a few blocks south of Kellogg, opposed the shipping containers themselves and also putting young adults in an area with persistent crime.

Hoheisel said the issue was city zoning already allowed for the containers even though there are concerns about them.

What the Council had to consider was a change in zoning to a planned unit development that would allow Arif to bypass some parking requirements.

“This is a tough one to thread the needle,” Hoheisel said.

The city already worked with Arif’s team to require either wood or composite shiplap on the containers.

On Tuesday, Hoheisel added a couple more requirements, including off-street parking that the development has to provide at a ratio of one parking space per dwelling along with additional screening fences and landscaping.

The landscape plan has to be submitted to the planning department and approved before any building permits will be issued.

There are two parts of the development. One is the shipping containers, which should total about 22, and the other is a former school on the property that will be converted for 33 units.

Arif said he hopes to start construction on the former school in the second or third week of January.

“The good thing (is) that building is enclosed, so weather won’t affect us.”

Arif said he’ll start preparing the ground for the containers in February. His plan is to “take down some ugly trees and do some foundation work.”

He said he also planned to start acquiring the containers, which he hopes will arrive by April.

“It doesn’t take much to assemble them on top of each other.”

Residents could be moving in by late 2026, but Arif said to give himself a bit of leeway, he’ll say “first quarter ’27, you’ll see people there.”

“We’re very happy to see the City Council saw merit in what we’re trying to do.”

He said he’s truly wanting to fill a need.

“We’re not some sort of out-of-town carpetbaggers looking to do some below-standard work, make money and leave.”