Milwaukee is fast gaining a reputation as the perfect city for building skyscrapers out of wood. It comes as Cavalier Johnson—the city’s mayor—announced that he will attend a special ground-breaking ceremony at the Edison next month (a 31-story mass timber building that will become the country’s largest plyscraper) with plans for a second, a 50-story skyscraper, “using as as much wood as possible.”
Using more than 100,000 cubic feet of lumber in its construction, including large volumes of cross-laminated timber panels and glulam beams over an 8-story post-tensioned concrete base, the 378-unit Edison development will tower over the 25-story Ascent, which in 2022 was awarded the world’s largest timber building, using modern methods of construction to build a tower that meets all requirements of the Living Building Challenge 4.0.
Tim Gokhman, the developer of Ascent, said timber had several advantages over steel and concrete. “Concrete is imprecise, it’s labour intensive, and it has a heavy carbon footprint,” according to Gokhman, who told CBS News that it took a dozen workers just 6 months to build Ascent’s core. “Steel has advantages. It can span much better than concrete and mass timber, but it’s even heavier and has the heaviest carbon footprint.”
When asked if America has enough trees to make our cities more mass timber-friendly, Gokhman said, “I think we do. The largest cause of deforestation is a lack of demand for forest products, which causes our forests to be converted to industrial, agricultural, and residential uses.”
Timber is a compelling solution for the residential and build-to-rent industry.
Earlier this year, Nate Helbach, founder and CEO of Neutral – the developer behind the Edison and the 50-story skyscraper designed by Michael Green, said timber is the ideal solution for residential and build-to-rent construction, commanding rental rates that far exceed the 2-3% for high-rise and 5% for low-rise construction.
And then there is fire protection, with Helbach revealing that rise testing is proving that mass timber is safer to use in high-rise buildings: “The reason for this is a process known as charring, which means that wood burns at a constant rate, even more so than steel-and-concrete.”
“So if a mass timber building ever burnt, it would burn at a very constant rate that is highly predictable – which is much safer for fire and safety personnel than a steel-and-concrete building.”
According to the 339-page Mass Timber report handed to delegates at the International Mass Timber Conference in Portland, Oregon, demand for mass timber is not equal across the United States – with the industry is now operating at just 39% manufacturing capacity: “This year, California, Texas, Washington, Georgia, Colorado and New York all have more than 50 projects in design and construction (with) assembly, business, educational and multifamily buildings were the leading market indicators, accounting for 80% of all mass timber construction.”
However, the total number of projects only tells part of the story. Last year, Michael Green claimed that city officials in smaller cities, like Milwaukee, are “on board” with sustainable-centric design and have a unique opportunity to create models for larger urban centres to follow, with larger cities, like Chicago, less willing to experiment with materials.
“It is ambitious projects like this that show how smaller cities are now poised to surpass the once-dominant capitals that shaped our skylines a century ago. Milwaukee’s progressive leaders embrace a future-oriented vision, encouraging development and innovation. Secondary cities across America are proving what’s possible. It’s time we all listen.”
New Tariffs could add millions to the cost of plyscrapers.
Last month, Helbach said that under a worst-case scenario, Trump’s tariffs could lead to a $4m cost increase in the cost of the Edison (or 2.4% across affected trades). “In some cases, our strategic pursuit of strict sustainability design guidelines and certifications has implicitly helped,” Helbach said, adding that the vast majority of materials used in the build will come from US suppliers:
“For example, our Neutral 1005 N Edison St project in Milwaukee is targeting Living Building Challenge (LBC) certification. This standard requires most materials to be sourced locally: at least 20% within 500 kilometres, another 30% within 1,000 kilometres, and an additional 25% within 5,000 kilometres. As a result, most of Neutral Edison’s materials are already sourced from U.S.-based suppliers, limiting our exposure to international tariffs.”
According to Mr Helbach, Neutral – which has three projects – in Milwaukee, Maidson and San Fransico under construction – has an active watch on mechanical systems, appliances, facade assemblies, mass timber and special interior finishes, which are all at greatest risk to tariffs: “For (these) projects still in planning or entering construction, we’re actively exploring domestic alternatives and continuing risk assessments for any imported components,” he said.
And when it comes to The Edison, most of the timber is not expected to arrive at US ports until Spring 2026. “With 13 months between now and the expected delivery window, there is still significant uncertainty regarding how trade negotiations will evolve.”
- To learn more about the surge in mass timber construction across the United States and the Midwest’s role in driving mid-rise and high-rise timber construction, visit Wood Central’s special feature.
