By now, most Americans who pay attention to innovative ways of using spaces are familiar with the concept of repurposing shipping containers as small homes
4th District Philadelphia Councilmember Curtis Jones, Jr. learned of shipping containers being utilized in Las Vegas as spaces where small business owners can set up shop and sell their products and services. After delving into the costs and time involved to turn shipping containers into moveable storefronts, he says he knew this was a concept he could bring to his district and help entrepreneurs grow their businesses.
“In another life, I was very involved with entrepreneurial start-up’, funding and contracts as well. Supporting small business owners has always been near and dear to my heart. I’ve found a way to express that prior life’s experience to my ability to do my job as a Councilman. The concept I’m developing now for a group of small business owners, who do not have a space to work from, is a “Container Village” concept. This idea, if you can imagine the old Jerry’s Corner, which was a location where people flocked to shop in the 1960s and ’70s, married to the “Christmas Mall set up outside every year around City Hall, if they had a baby, it would be our container village.”
For local urban entrepreneurs, the 4th District Container Village will be their first rung in retail. When they first get started, many small business owners sell products out of the trunks of their cars. The container village concept will allow an entrepreneur to have a permanent location, to have a group setting, to feed off each other’s clients and customers, and to create that synergy that happens in a Mall. People walk into a Mall, coming there for one purpose, and then they have impulse purchases on their way to and from their car. With this concept what we hope to do, is not just make this an outlet for sneakers, sundresses, sunglasses, African Art, etc. this will also be a destination for people who just want to order an exotic meal from a vending truck. We expect to have at least five vending trucks as part of the “4th District Container Village, to be located on 49th Street.”
Councilmember Jones says he’s going to use the old SEPTA bus turn-around lot to put 20 containers for business outlets with roll-down gates, with countertops, with shelving and refurbished overseas containers, in the heart of his district to offer residents something new and exciting and to give small business owners an opportunity to shine. The containers will also be outfitted with electric heat and air-conditioning. Individual business owners will be able to build out their shelving the way they want to. Unified signage will be created for the Container Village with a welcoming archway leading to the container storefronts.
During winter months, hours of operation will probably be from 11:00 a.m.- 7:00 p.m. and in the summer, Councilmember Jones says he expects the Container Village will be open for longer hours because we get natural light until almost 8:30 p.m. The other thing the Councilman is planning is to have a stage area created so that shoppers can enjoy local artists who offer family-friendly performances, while they make purchases. The other attraction will be an outdoor movie theatre.
The goal is to have the 4th District Container Village up and running by mid-Spring of 2022.
”In terms of the actual physical plan for the lot itself, stated Councilmember Jones, “We will have the lot repaved, re-stripped, and looking welcoming. We’re going to redo the outside wall of the lot and have it painted in a festive way with bright, cheerful colors. After that, our business owners will get busy. We want Container Village to become a destination point for shopping.”
The entrepreneurs and small business owners who participate in a workshop being hosted by Councilmember Jones Thursday, October 7, 2021, will receive a full overview of what the 4th District Container Village is all about, and what the responsibilities of entrepreneurs who buy into this concept will be. He says the rental fee will be very affordable. If you have had some pre-business training through the West Philadelphia Enterprise Center or via the Community College of Philadelphia Power-Up program, for example, that will get you 50% of the way towards being selected as one of the first 20 business owners who take space at Container Village.
Councilmember Jones added, “After you fill out an application to be one of the businesses at the Container Village, the next step in the process will be to participate in a “Shark Tank” type presentation, where each entrepreneur will make their pitch. People in the food business will have to offer a tasting, to be considered, still very similar to the popular television show “Shark Tank,” which selects business owners to fund.”
To make certain that the 4th District Container Village doesn’t do harm to already existing businesses in the area, wording will be included in rental agreements for the Container Village, which indicate merchants at the Container Village must sell unique items. No bootleg merchandise will be allowed, and Jones says this operation will be above board. All the business owners will have to pay taxes just like any other business in Philadelphia, and he stressed, they want to work with responsible entrepreneurs.
The MED Week workshop being hosted by Councilmember Jones will run from 6:00 p.m.-7:30 p.m. The location of the workshop is the Business and Technology Center located at 5070 Parkside Avenue. You can pre-register at https://www.eventbrite.com/e/councilman-curtis-jones-jrs-4th-district-container-mall-round-table-tickets-168640132175.
MED Week runs from October 4th through October 8th in Philadelphia this year.
