Ten factory-built BoxHouse homes donated through ReadyPod will soon provide ready-to-occupy homes for families displaced by Typhoon Sinlaku, including five veteran households, with Gov. David M. Apatang last July 24 welcoming the initiative as a timely boost to the CNMI’s ongoing recovery efforts.
Apatang toured one of the ReadyPod Dual Primary homes on a vacant lot near the Port of Saipan last July 24 before the units are delivered to selected families.
"This is an opportune time for this contribution for our veterans, those who are actually in need of a house," Apatang said. "I hope we have more of this coming to the Commonwealth for a lot of our veterans here who really need this house."
A veteran himself, the governor thanked the donors for remembering the CNMI's former service members.
"On behalf of our people from the Commonwealth, I want to thank BoxHouse for their contribution and thinking about our veterans here from the bottom of our heart," he said.
Special assistant for Homeland Security and Emergency Management Clement Bermudes said the donation comes at a critical time as many residents remain displaced following Typhoon Sinlaku and, more recently, Typhoon Bavi.
"We're so grateful. This major contribution from BoxHouse [is] to veterans that are displaced due to the storms and also other residents that are still displaced as a result of Typhoon Sinlaku and now Bavi," Bermudes said. "This is really a game changer."
He added that the homes offer families a faster path to permanent housing.
"It's ready to occupy once it's set in their property, not waiting too long for a home to be built, and more so about veterans having a stable place to live with their families," Bermudez said.
Bermudes said five homes will go to veterans identified through Project Buddy Check, while the remaining five will be provided to families affiliated with The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints who were displaced by the storm. Recipients were identified after post-typhoon assessments found their homes had suffered irreparable damage.
Joanna Aquino, Saipan liaison for the nongovernmental organization coordinating the effort, said the donation will directly benefit 10 families.
"This donation is going to 10 families who were displaced by [Super] Typhoon Sinlaku," Aquino said. "Five of these donations are going to veterans... and the other five [are] going to members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints."
Calling the contribution "a generous donation," Aquino added, "We are very grateful and we are very blessed."
Contractor Al Cabael, whose team is installing the homes using local labor, said the modular units have proven straightforward to assemble.
"In terms of the installation, we find it to be pretty simple," Cabael said.
He said the units should become an attractive housing option because of their quick deployment.
"Once these units are placed in different locations, it'll be something pretty attractive in terms of the cost and the time to deliver," Cabael said, adding that the turnkey homes can typically be delivered within two to three weeks after permits are secured.
According to information provided by Spencer Ricks, BoxHouse's head of marketing, the donated homes are engineered to withstand Category 5 typhoons and are part of ReadyPod's strategic housing reserve designed for rapid disaster response. Each Dual Primary unit contains two independent 190-square-foot living spaces with separate entrances, bedrooms, bathrooms and kitchenettes. The donated homes will also be furnished with beds, bedding, generators, air-conditioning units, refrigerators and other essentials so recipients can move in immediately.
Ricks said ReadyPod is "building a reserve of ready-to-deploy homes that can be shipped and set up quickly when disaster strikes," adding that Saipan is one of the first real-world examples of that model in action. He said the homes will be donated directly to displaced families and legally titled to the property owners "with no strings attached." Families were selected in coordination with local organizations and community leaders based on need following Super Typhoon Sinlaku.
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