UrbanBloc—From Passion to Industry Leader
After an extreme career change, the drive for continual improvement leads this shipping container building manufacturer to excellence.
It was quite a career shift for Martha Trela, President and CEO of UrbanBloc – from DNA researcher to modular construction company owner. She partnered with Jerry Jameson, a California architect, to start the shipping container building company in 2014, and their first project had a high-profile client – the San Francisco Giants baseball team.
“It turned out to be a very large project for us,” Trela said, “and we had to really scramble to pull together every aspect of our business while working on a very high-profile project on a very tight timeline. We did it, but in the process, we really learned a lot.” Continual improvement has been Trela’s mantra over her ten years with UrbanBloc, almost a necessity considering her background.
After 25 years in the life sciences, she was ready for a change.
“I ran across a project in San Francisco that really caught my attention. It was in Hayes Valley, which was a transforming neighborhood, and the city owned this piece of land and had a long-term development plan for it, but they wanted to activate the site in the short term to help transform the neighborhood from a kind of sketchy area into much more of a destination area. They put out an RFP for a five-year project bringing in buildings that could be moved in the future that could support new entrepreneurs, in particular underserved women owned businesses. And they were all made out of shipping containers. I was so fascinated by the concept of utilizing little scraps of land in certain areas to affect urban transformation, to support underserved populations, and provide a retail space for new businesses to get launched, and ultimately provide social activation. I just couldn’t shake it.”
The passion born by learning about this project and following up with more research led Trela to take a new path – starting a modular construction company that specialized in using shipping containers. And over 80 projects in, her experience has led her, and others on her team, to some interesting places.
Driving Positive Social Change
UrbanBloc specializes in three main categories or markets – what they call “Phase 0” projects, amenities, and urban infill.
Phase 0 projects are precursors to a long-term development, like the revitalization project that first sparked Trela’s interest. Often temporary buildings are brought in for a defined period of time, 5, 7, or even 10 years, with the plan to remove them when the planned building or development begins construction. This is done for financial or strategic purposes.
UrbanBloc’s first project for the San Francisco Giants was a phase 0 project that was designed to support local businesses. The project included a space for community education, food, a beer garden, and a dog park. Everything was built using shipping containers, which were assembled off site and then delivered once the site work was completed. When construction of the larger project was set to start, the containers could be easily disconnected and moved or repurposed. “For these types of developments shipping containers are actually a great option because of their transportability and mobility. If someone wants to pick them up, move them to another location, or sell them to a second client, they can,” said Trela.
Amenities projects are added to another building or development to fill space, meet jurisdictional requirements, or as an added feature. A developer in southern California hired them to build a combination coffee shop, café, and bar that transitioned from one purpose to the next as the day progressed. The owner used it as an added draw when leasing out space in their office development.
Another high profile UrbanBloc amenity project sits outside the entrance to the BMO soccer stadium in Los Angeles. A shipping container in front of the ticket gates allows visitors to enjoy beer, wine, margaritas, or ice cream as they wait to be let into the stadium. This project was a bit of a challenge because all sides of the container had to be branded, so the team used wood and metal to create a unique look, including a 20-foot sliding wood barn door.
Urban infill projects are meant to help a neighborhood or area transition into a more positive space. In Oakland they built a coffee shop that offered healthy food with a deck and places for people to sit in a parking lot behind a fitness center that used to be a tire store. The area soon became a popular place for people to meet, have coffee, and eat. Many of these infill sites are almost too small for traditional construction methods. “But because we’re building off site, we can bring in an already built building with very little impact to the rest of the community, drop it in, finish up the site work, and voila, you’ve got this little community space.”
The team has also done some work in the supportive housing space, mostly providing the more complicated facilities in these developments, like bathrooms, showers, and laundry and food facilities. “At some deep level, part of our reason for being is to help be a part of positive social change,” said Trela. “So, at our core, those projects are really important to who we are as a company.”
Why Shipping Containers?
While modular companies may dabble in working with shipping containers, not many rely on them solely for their projects. Containers offer quite a few advantages, according to Trela.
“My business partner, Jerry, says that they’re human scale, so they’re approachable and they almost have their own little personalities. There’s something that is very compelling to people about containers and container developments. They tend to take on their own personality and become their own entities.” Secondly, the transportation industry is mostly organized around transporting these containers, so there are no special considerations when moving them from the factory to the site. Trela said, “The entire global transportation industry was organized around this 8'x40' or 8'x20' module to move and distribute goods and services. So, they’re very easy to transport.”
Clients are often attracted to them because from a real estate perspective they are considered an asset. Having the flexibility to move and transport these assets allows owners to respond to different circumstances in a fluid manner that they can’t get with standard construction.
Continual Improvement Drives Excellence
Trela’s team is small, with only ten employees, though they utilize subcontractors to complete most of the trade work in their factory. Many of their contracting partners have been with them since the beginning, learning alongside each other. “Our company has really embraced a constant thirst for evaluating how we can do better in the next project, where we can grow, and where we can learn. And it’s all with the intent of satisfying our customers and meeting their needs.”
Through that experience, they’ve assembled a network of suppliers and other strategic partners that allow them to complete projects under tight timelines. “Our business processes and relationships have really evolved, which gives us the ability to be very nimble and quick.”
“We’ve gained so much more expertise over these years that now we can be a much bigger participant in the larger process. Not just our containers. If we’re brought in early enough, we can be an advisor and a strategist as part of the larger team. We can say, how can we get this project to successful opening and beyond? That’s really rewarding for us because we can give back and help ensure fast, efficient, cost-effective projects throughout the process. I think as a company we’ve developed into a premiere, high-quality, well-respected brand in the industry, and we’re super proud of that.”
What’s Next?
UrbanBloc has several projects on the horizon, including a pizza restaurant in Hayward that will be using a refurbished BART car as the seating area.
“I feel like even though the ten years has gone by fast, we are veterans in the industry in some ways, but we don’t feel that way. Because we’re always learning and always looking at things through new perspectives, we still feel like we’re youngsters, but with a track record.”
About the Author: Dawn Killough is a freelance construction writer with over 25 years of experience working with construction companies, subcontractors and general contractors. Her published work can be found at dkilloughwriter.com.
More from Modular Advantage
Homes as Essential Infrastructure
The housing crisis is nothing new. Across the world, federal, state, and municipal governments of all sizes are struggling with how to provide more affordable housing—quickly—to those who need it. In Canada, Paul Halucha, Deputy Minister of Housing, Infrastructure, and Communities Canada (HICC), argues that the federal role in housing has shifted from funding at arm’s length to actively shaping outcomes.
Building the Future, Offsite
In the face of a national housing crisis, England stands at a critical inflection point where innovation, scale, and public-private partnerships must converge to meet an urgent need: more homes, and fast. Homes England is helping reshape the housing market by actively supporting MMC through a strategic blend of land development, financing, and grants.
How POJI and MOKO Are Industrializing Modular Construction Through Automated Engineering Systems
Working with Scandinavian Industrialized Building System (SIBS), POJI and MOKO helped realize a modular city concept located in Järfälla municipality of Stockholm, Sweden, with 350 apartments, communal areas, restaurants, small shops, and a preschool in a pleasant mix with experiential architecture and greenery.
Inside Boutique Modern’s Mission to Make First Homes Affordable and Efficient in The U.K.
The U.K.-based firm has been in business for 12 years, manufacturing houses for both private clients and local government, with a large chunk of its business coming from “affordable” and social housing. Working in a 32,000 square-foot factory in Newhaven, Sussex, Boutique Modern is changing decades-old thinking about constructing houses, all through the use of modular.
BoulderMOD: Producing Affordable Modular Homes While Training the Workforce of the Future
Colorado has been hit with a double whammy—a decline in the number of skilled construction workers and an increased need for affordable housing. BoulderMOD, a partnership among the city of Boulder, Flatirons Habitat for Humanity, and Boulder Valley School District, is tackling both problems and helping others do the same.
Guerdon: Seeking the ‘Holy Grail’ of Modular Construction
Guerdon, a modular manufacturer in Boise, Idaho, recently won what Laurence (Lad) Dawson, CEO and Managing Partner, describes as the ‘holy grail’ for a modular manufacturer. The RFP calls for a pipeline of six projects, totaling approximately 570
units.
State of Modular in 2025: Facing Reality
The critical and urgent reality is that the modular industry needs to open the doors to collaboration across all sectors. The sooner we stare down these challenges, the sooner we can welcome a new reality where modular is the dominant way to deliver housing for better performance, quality and all at a lower cost.
Modular Multifamily Housing as a Scalable Solution to the Housing Crisis
GreenStaxx provides a real-world, scalable solution through its standardized library of modular-ready multifamily designs and its innovative triple-decker model. Together, these offerings address the industry’s two greatest needs: efficiency and adaptability. By focusing on quality, repeatability, and collaboration, GreenStaxx is helping move modular construction from niche to mainstream and offering a practical path toward solving the housing shortage.
Sealed for Success: The Role of Waterproofing in Modular Construction
Water is one of the biggest threats to any building, causing structural damage, mold growth, and costly repairs if not properly managed. Waterproofing is the first line of defense, ensuring durability and long-term performance. As construction methods evolve, so do waterproofing solutions – moving beyond traditional coatings to advanced, factory-ready systems.
From Volume to Velocity: Scaling Multi-Family Projects Without Losing Control
When projects grow too fast without the right systems, factories run into problems. They miss deadlines, crews burn out, and quality drops. Instead of steady progress, chaos takes over. Things slow down, even with more units going through. That’s because building more isn’t enough—you also need to build smarter. That means shifting focus from volume to velocity.