Ohio group creating artists village with shipping containers

Akron City Council approved a rezoning request this past week to allow construction. (The Akron Soul Train/Facebook)

AKRON, Ohio—A project in Ohio to turn shipping containers into homes for travelling artists is moving ahead.

The plan is for the first artists to move in near downtown Akron this summer.

A group called Akron Soul Train is behind the idea. They’re using a private grant and donations to get the project going.

They envision a canopy-covered village of brightly colored containers with sculptors, painters and visual artists mingling with pedestrians.

The artists will create their art while living and working in the steel containers typically seen on railways and cargo ships.

Akron City Council approved a rezoning request this past week to allow construction.

Organizers tell the Akron Beacon Journal they hope to have the entire project finished in three or four years.