Mass timber is taking a big step in New York City with the recent announcement of a project to develop more than 500 mixed-income housing units with the innovative wood product on city-owned land in Staten Island.
“In New York City this is a huge mass timber project,” says Momo Sun, regional director, WoodWorks, Wood Products Council (WPC).
Up until now, only a few small mixed-income housing complexes with no more than 15 units have been specified in mass timber in New York City.
Still in its infancy the Staten Island project by Artimus and the Phoenix Realty Group will be on two vacant properties along the city-owned New Stapleton Waterfront on the North Shore of Staten Island. A quarter of the units will be designated as affordable suites.
The development team is commencing site investigations and is expected to begin construction in 2027.
The project is the first publicly-awarded project to use mass timber at scale in the northeastern U.S.
Sun says a preference for the engineered wood material was written into the RFP posted by the city of New York and the New York City Economic Development Corporation (NYCEDC).
“That is a huge milestone because the EDC or the city has never put a material preference in their RFQs, RFPs.”
To tackle the challenges using mass timber for the big city project, the developer’s design team will participate in the NYC Mass Timber Studio, an accelerator program that provides technical and regulatory assistance.
“It is really a model for how to drive innovation and drive education,” says Bill Parsons, COO, WoodWorks – WPC.
Led by the NYCEDC in partnership with Newlab and the Mayor’s Office for Climate and Environmental Justice, the 10-month program at the studio includes twice-a-month meetings with the design/development team and a monthly “learning workshop” on various mass timber-related topics, Sun says.
The studio assists all of the project participants, including the architect, engineer, contractor and developer.
“We really have to educate everyone,” says Parsons, noting the studio was launched in 2023.
Participants get help on a range of topics, including building code issues, waterproofing details, timber connections and even where to source materials.
“It really pushes along” the permitting and design process, says Sun, adding the NYC Department of Buildings will be on hand to provide assistance to the team.
She says advantages of mass timber over conventional materials for housing include that it requires less labor and erection is much quicker.
“Like the mayor (Eric Adams) has said, the city is desperate for affordable housing or housing in general so the quicker they can get it up, the quicker people can move in.”
Parsons adds mass timber holds a logistics advantage over concrete because it requires fewer trucks and large equipment to deliver the project.
While it has yet to be determined where the engineered wood materials will come from, there are a number of manufacturing plants in the U.S. southeast, one in Chicago and others nearby in Canada.
Parsons says because of its lightweight (considerably less than concrete or steel), the cost of shipping even long distances should not be prohibitive.
The project is one of several initiatives under Staten Island’s North Shore Action Plan by the city of New York, a four-year effort to invest $400 million in the construction of 2,400 homes over 20 acres of public space.
Mass timber fits into New York City’s Green Economy Action Plan which lays a roadmap to growing the city’s green economy.
“We are not only building the affordable homes New Yorkers need but using sustainable materials to reduce our carbon footprint and help turn New York City’s waterways into the ‘Harbor of the Future,’” Adams said in a press release.
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