The Cargo Lofts, complete with shipping containers, coming to Lawrenceville

Coming soon to Lawrenceville: The Cargo Lofts, three luxury units featuring shipping containers within a former industrial warehouse.

“A lot of development in Pittsburgh is cookie-cutter,” says the developer Kris Bennett of K Bennett Development Group. “We think there’s room for something different.”

One unit of The Cargo Lofts will be built entirely from shipping containers, with all three units featuring containers as indoor-outdoor entertainment space on the third floor, with a wet bar, roof terrace and “incredible” views of Downtown Pittsburgh.

The units are located on Duncan St. in Upper Lawrenceville and the design is by South Side-based architect Peter Margittai. The two townhouses are priced at $549,000 while the third and largest unit—comprised entirely of shipping containers—is priced at $649,000. That unit will have three bedrooms, 3.5 baths and a two-car garage.

The plan is to preserve the original ceiling, exposed brick and industrial feel of the warehouse building while adding modern design elements.

Shipping containers are a trend in architecture with their industrial feel and reuse of old material. Bennett says as far as he knows, this will be the first structure built in Pittsburgh with one unit entirely comprised of shipping containers. He adds that he’s received a “ton of positive feedback” about the project so far.

“We’ve been planning for over a year, and we’ve done a lot of base-covering,” says Kris, who has previously flipped single-family homes.

The project is expected to be completed by July of this year. The realtor is Lifespace Pittsburgh.