Lever Architecture has cleared design review to build an 11-story, mixed-use tower in the Pearl using cross-laminated timber in place of steel and concrete—the tallest in the nation.
Courtesy of Lever Architecture
Plans for a wooden high-rise in downtown Portland are no more.
Developers behind a 12-story building project known as Framework say the project has been put on hold for the foreseeable future. They cited inflation, escalating construction costs and market changes.
Developers were unable to secure enough funding toward the $29 million price tag despite considerable public investment. That included $6 million from the Portland Housing Bureau and $19.5 million from other government sources, according to Willamette Week, which first reported the news.
“Over the last four years, the Framework team has worked with private entities and public agencies that have understood the nature of this project and have supported our efforts to bring this pioneering model to fruition”, Anyeley Hallova, developer with the Portland-based firm, project^, said in a statement. “Although beset with market challenges beyond our control, we are very proud of Framework’s achievements and the new standards we’ve established for the use of CLT in the U.S.”
The Framework project began in 2014. It would have been the tallest wooden tower in North America.
It was set to use a high-tech product known as cross-laminated timber, a high-strength wood product that could provide a potential substitute for steel.
The Portland project had support from industry and elected officials who say cross-laminated timber could provide sustainable building materials and a potential boon to the forest products industry.
“Projects like the Framework building present a new opportunity for Oregon that we are perfectly suited to take on,” Oregon Gov. Kate Brown said last year when the building was cleared for construction. “Oregon’s forests are a tried and true resource that may again be the key to economic stability for rural Oregon, expanding opportunity for communities hit hard by the decline of the natural resource economy.”
Construction of another cross-laminated timber building was halted at Oregon State University this past spring, after a panel failed during construction.