The United States has emerged as one of the world’s fastest-growing markets for mass timber, with the South being the ground zero for the new wave of building projects—none more so than in Brookhaven, Georgia, where the state’s first government building construction from mass timber topped out earlier this month.
A joint venture between St. Louis-based McCarthy Building Cos and Tyrone and Georgia-based Barnsley Construction Group, the $78 million City Centre project is the first city’s first purpose-built City Hall – and will house the city’s administration office and council chambers.
The five-story structure, which anchors the City Centre mixed-use project, will occupy a site adjacent to the Brookhaven Metropolitan Atlanta Rapid Transit Authority rail station and replace a former parking lot.
“Brookhaven City Centre is an excellent representation of mass-timber’s inherent flexibility and versatility, and we’re proud to be a part of a development that is breaking new ground,” according to Selina Schulten, president at Barnsley Construction Group.
Wood Central understands the building structure will consist of exposed mass timber for all the upper levels and concrete for the parking garage. Construction crews finalised the complex assembly of wood panels last month.
McCarthy said the team navigated various nuances that differed from concrete and steel construction, including loading and unloading logistics, familiarising subcontractors with the correct directional positioning of the timber before installation, and maneuvering the large pieces of timber within a tight space.
- To learn more about the push to build more US government buildings out of wood, click here for Wood Central’s special feature.