Unused COVID Quarantine Pods Soon to Be Repurposed

The COVID-19 quarantine pods that Metro bought with $1.2 million and never used have cleared a key hurdle in being repurposed. 

A memo to the Metro Department of Codes and Building Safety from the Tennessee Department of Commerce and Insurance (which houses the state Fire Marshal's Office) approved Metro’s use of the pods. The approval comes on two conditions: The structures must be placed 12 feet apart, and the city must produce a thermal barrier. (A 2023 inspection found that material with which Pallet Shelter makes the pods is too flammable to comply with Tennessee’s manufactured-homes regulation.)

The 108 quarantine housing pods purchased with $1.2 million of Centers for Disease Control and Prevention funding were never used. Twenty-five of them sat empty in the parking lot of the Nashville Rescue Mission for seven months — October 2021 to May 2022 — and have been stored in an undisclosed location since.  

The Metro Department of Codes and Building Safety and the state Fire Marshal’s office have been at odds on the matter since 2021, while efforts to repurpose them stalled. 

Metro Seeks Permission to Repurpose Unused COVID Pods

More than 100 units worth $1.2 million were never occupied

Tuesday evening’s memo is a long-awaited win for District 12 Metro Councilmember Erin Evans, who began her charge to use the pods for homeless services in August of last year. Mayor Freddie O’Connell also shared his support of the development on X (formerly Twitter). Next, Evans will create an RFP (request for proposal) for interested nonprofits who may want to use them. 

“I appreciate the mayor's office and Darren Jernigan (a state representative) for bringing all of the state and local stakeholders together to finalize a solution,” Evans shares in a statement to Scene sister publication the Nashville Post. “Now that we have overcome this significant barrier, I am eager to support the RFP process and help share what the requirements for using these shelters will look like.”  

Kevin Walters, a spokesperson for the state Fire Marshal’s office, adds in a statement: “Upon our latest review, the pods in question have been determined to meet the applicable code requirements for units intended for sleeping purposes, if the two requirements mentioned in the memo are followed. The Tennessee State Fire Marshal’s Office oversees all modular housing in Tennessee, including mobile homes, tiny homes, and the pods in question. We are committed to our mission of protecting lives and property.” 

This article was first published by our sister publication, the Nashville Post.