A two-building affordable-housing project near Porter Square in Cambridge is included in a program to promote mass timber – wood that has been layered and bonded into panels, beams and columns that are so strong they can replace steel or concrete, but are lighter and make construction faster, easier and less expensive.
Inclusion of the project at 1826 and 1840 Massachusetts Ave., a pair of parking lots, was announced Wednesday by the Mass Clean Energy Center. The Mass Timber Assembly cohort is a yearlong program that gives eight teams $40,000 in funding, technical help and analysis of costs and schedules and gives them a way to learn from other teams using mass timber across the state.
The Cambridge project would likely not start construction until 2028 and not open until 2030, according to its builder, the nonprofit developer Just A Start. As described at a community meeting in July, the buildings would rise a dozen stories on the lot closer to Porter Square, with an estimated 76 homes and retail and parking for 78 bicycles and five cars at the base; and, on the other side of Mount Vernon Street, a half-dozen stories with 29 homes with 32 bicycle spaces. A community room would open onto a corner plaza. Over that, farther up the side street, would be a modest, green park – about the size of a doubles tennis court.
Mass timber provides faster construction, more predictable costs and healthier indoor environments and is considered more environmentally sound that traditional materials, as it “can store carbon for the life of the building,” according to the Mass Clean Energy Center, a state economic development agency formed in 2010.
“Mass timber is no longer just an emerging material. It’s a real option for building projects in Massachusetts,” center chief executive Ben Downing said. “Teams still need support to navigate the early decisions that can determine whether a project moves forward [and] test what works in the real world and share those lessons with the broader building community.”
The program is expected to culminate in a public showcase and a collection of case studies.
In addition to the Cambridge project, the group is giving money and help to a Bunker Hill Housing redevelopment in Charlestown; work at Salem High School and affordable housing in the Salem Highlands; a state transportation administration building in Taunton; Milford High School changes; a new Dighton Elementary School that will explore whether cross-laminated timber can serve as a replicable model for public school construction; and a College of the Holy Cross residence hall – where the timber will include salvaged lumber from a former local mill – in Worcester.
“Choosing what we build with matters, and mass timber allows us to make greater use of a material that grows right here in Massachusetts,” state Energy and Environmental Affairs secretary Rebecca Tepper said.
