The world’s tallest mass timber building could be built over a snow pile after the City of Milwaukee selected The Neutral Project —the developer behind The Edison, a 32-storey timber-hybrid building under construction—to develop an even more impressive 50-storey timber skyscraper, as part of a $700m activation of the Marcus Performing Art Center garage snow pile.
“Designed by MGA | Michael Green Architecture, a global leader in mass timber buildings,” The Neutral Project said, with “the project eventually including the tallest mass timber in the world and the tallest building in Wisconsin.”
A short hop, skip and jump from The Edison – which is now using 100,000 cubic feet of cross-laminated timber panels and glulam beams over a post-tensioned concrete base; the timber building is part of a scheme which includes “multiple mixed-use building(s),” delivered over several phases.
The project could consist of “up to 750 residential units, “90,000 square feet of office space, 40,000 square feet of retail space, 300 hotel rooms, 1,100 structured parking spaces, and public plazas/walkways.”
Wood Central understands that the City of Milwaukee has granted the developers a one-year exclusive hold over the project to shore up financing. In approving the proposal, Milwaukee Mayor Cavalier Johnson said the “one-year window “gives the development team time to secure tenants, secure financing, and finalise the project plans.
“As Mayor, I have not been shy about my goal to grow our city’s population to one million Milwaukeeans,” said Mayor Johnson. “To do that, we must be aggressive and reach new heights.”
“This project will help us do just that, aiming to set local and global records and add density and activity to an underutilised City-controlled parcel in downtown Milwaukee. It also represents a forward-thinking Milwaukee, open to outside investment and ideas, and I thank The Neutral Project for their confidence in Milwaukee’s future.”
The latest project comes as tall buildings made from wood are becoming mainstream across America, with developers turning to timber-based hybrid systems to reduce steel, concrete, and glass in buildings. According to research published by the University of Georgia, demand for timber buildings, especially in the American South, is expected to surge 25-fold over the next 50 years. That’s because they are lighter, more sustainable, and faster to construct than conventional steel and concrete systems.
“There are 1,500 buildings that have been constructed or are in design across the United States,” according to Kevin Naranjo, National Program Manager for Mass Timber at the US Forest Service Wood Innovations Program, who spoke to Wood Central about the wave of timber buildings now sweeping American cities. “That number is growing exponentially with the US government and cities pledging to be net-zero by 2050.”
That includes the City of Milwaukee, with The Neutral Project and its project team, looking at both developments as “a proof of concept for mass timber construction across the United States.”
- To learn more about the surge in mass timber construction across the United States and the American South’s role in driving mid-rise and high-rise timber construction, visit Wood Central’s special feature.
