North Carolina Construction News staff writer
Wilmington’s first mass timber office building is under construction. The 67,000-sq. ft. building is a joint venture with general contractors Swinerton and Wilmington-headquartered Monteith Construction.
Glulam timber and cross-laminated timber fabrications is being provided by Timberlab and construction is expected to be completed in early 2024.
Designed by LS3P, the four-story building, the fourth to be built on the Live Oak Bank site, is expected to achieve LEED Silver certification.
Mass timber construction is lighter than steel and concrete and requires less foundation, which translates into savings of time and budget. It’s a renewable resource with a smaller carbon footprint than other traditional construction materials and has a biophilic design that enhances connectivity to the natural environment.
“It’s a reflection of the economic development and innovation happening here in Wilmington, and we hope this project will help catalyze more sustainable, forward-thinking building practices across the Carolinas,” said Bryan Thomas, CEO and president of Monteith Construction.
Swinerton has completed more than 20 mass timber projects and has 10 more under construction including phase two of the Joinery, a seven-story mixed-use development in Charlotte with a 1,700-sq. ft. mass timber mezzanine.
Jared Hoeflich, vice president at Swinerton’s Carolinas Division, said that Building Four is the Cape Fear region’s first 100% mass timber project. He explained that mass timber’s growing popularity as a building material is attributable to its lightness relative to steel concrete, its renewability, and its suitability to biophilic design.