By PHYLLIS ZORN

Staff writer

Hillsboro is now home to three former shipping containers that will provide affordable housing when completed.

Felix Ramirez, owner of Kansas Home Solutions, along with Crystal Leatherman, owner of Heartland Investment Properties, said the companies might add more container houses to Hillsboro.

“Two are being worked on right now,” Ramirez said. “One is probably 99% done. It’s got some touch-up paint and other little stuff to do, and then it’s done.”

The company plans to use one container house as an Airbnb rental and the others as rental houses.

“There are plans for us to make affordable-living houses in the surrounding area,” he said. “Kansas is where we reside, so our heart is here in Kansas.”

The couple plan to produce more houses and sell them.

“We want to provide that first home,” Ramirez said.

Leatherman said the project benefits Hillsboro.

“The way I see it is, me giving back to people to own their own house,” he said. “You have a brand new container house and you don’t have to do anything to it.”

The houses are 40 feet long and eight feet wide with 9½-foot ceilings.

They are made of metal to withstand salty air in coastal areas, he said.

“These are brand-new houses with the latest plumbing and countertops,” he said.

The three container houses in Hillsboro are laid out in two different styles. Two designed to be rental houses have the entrance on the longer side and spacious windows to let in natural light. They also will have generous decks.

The Airbnb house has sliding-glass doors on the small side, a smaller deck and one window.

Leatherman and Ramirez purchased Hillsboro’s mobile home park a year and a half ago and chose the east side of the park for the container houses.

They have plans to put in a central gathering area and coin laundry.

They have worked in Kansas, Nevada, and Oklahoma, but their primary focus is Kansas.

The houses need little to no maintenance, he said. Ramirez said Hillsboro was very welcoming and had been great to work with.

“We hope to partner with other towns that are just as welcoming,” he said.