An eight-story, 72,000-sf mass timber apartment building in Portland, Ore., topped out this winter and will soon offer over 100 affordable units. The structure is the tallest affordable housing mass timber building and the first Type IV-C affordable housing building in the city. (Type IV construction, a category of construction defined by the International Building Code, allows for taller heights, more stories above grade, and greater allowable areas.)
The Timberview VIII project is composed of glulam beams/columns, Cross Laminated Timber (CLT) floorplates, and a steel frame brace system. It utilizes five-inch ply CLT floorplates (fire rated 2-hr) and full height steel concentric braced frames for the lateral system. The building’s exposed mass timber design will allow residents and those passing by to see the beauty of mass timber inside and outside. The structure uses hydronic floor heating that reduces energy costs for tenants.
Located in northeast Portland near public transit, Timberview VIII consists of 105 units of 60% AMI affordable housing in studio, one-, two- and three-bedroom configurations. The building will include 2,600 sf of ground-floor retail space.
Mass timber offered construction and engineering benefits including lighter weight and more flexibility than concrete, creating advantages in meeting seismic standards. Working with the material also sped up scheduling on a tight urban site at a busy intersection. Loads of mass timber could be quickly unloaded so that trucks wouldn’t restrict traffic for long.
On the project team:
Owner and/or developer: C & J Property Development LLC
Design/Architect of Record: Access Architecture
MEP engineer: Caliber Plumbing & Mechanical
Structural engineer: DCI Engineers
General contractor/construction manager: Truebeck Construction
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