Oregon project to expand mass timber production, industry jobs with $41.4M federal grant

The Oregon Mass Timber Coalition — which includes researchers, government agencies, the University of Oregon and Oregon State University — received a $41.4 million federal grant to expand the state's mass timber industry to improve housing opportunities, reduce wildfire risks and create new jobs.

The U.S. Economic Development Administration grant to the Oregon Mass Timber Coalition, announced this month, is part of the $1 billion Build Back Better Regional Challenge, meant to boost economic recovery from the pandemic and rebuild American communities. The Oregon Mass Timber Coalition is among 21 organizations that will receive grants.

In December 2021, the coalition became one of 60 finalist proposals in the challenge. It was awarded an initial $500,000 to create a strategy for the facility, to make its plan stand out as a worthy investment in the federal infrastructure plan.

Mass timber, a generic term for a type of structural building material made from layers of wood, can be strong enough to serve as a replacement for steel and concrete. The Oregon Mass Timber Coalition is a partnership between the Port of Portland, Business Oregon, the Oregon Department of Forestry, the Department of Land Conservation and Development and the TallWood Design Institute, a University of Oregon and Oregon State University collaboration.

The federal grant, according to OSU, will support research involving:

• the use of mass timber in housing;

• spurring development of a Port of Portland factory to produce mass timber housing;

• funding forest restoration projects in the Willamette National Forest;

• jumpstarting public-private partnerships to grow employment around using mass timber in housing; and

• supporting updating building codes in wildfire impacted communities to mass timber products.

“From forests to manufacturing to the construction site, we have designed a holistic suite of investments that create benefits across the supply chain,” Iain Macdonald, director of the TallWood Design Institute, said a news release.

The grant funding will support a broad strategy for expanding the mass timber housing market through these focus areas:

Mass timber research and innovation

The award will accelerate the mass timber research and development efforts by constructing an acoustic testing laboratory at UO and a fire testing facility at OSU. The grant also will advance research at UO and OSU by testing mass timber housing prototypes for structural, seismic, durability and energy performance.

The term "mass timber" covers a variety of existing products, such as glue-laminated beams, and new products are regularly being invented will require testing. Testing those products will be essential to getting them into new homes.

Sturdy, strong and sustainable: Mass timber's popularity grows in Pacific Northwest

Judith Sheine, a professor of architecture at UO, said building those testing facilities has been a priority for years.

"We have amazing testing facilities at the universities. The two things we were lacking are fire and acoustics," she said.

Sheine said the universities also will be developing prototypes for panelized affordable mass plywood single-family housing units. She said mass timber has the potential to be cheaper, more fire resistant and environmentally friendly.

"We think by very cleverly, we hope, using these thinner materials and using digital workflows and digital fabrication equipment, we can actually make these affordable and have all these other benefits at the same time," Sheine said.

Port of Portland Terminal 2 Mass Timber Innovation Hub

Federal investment will offset the costs of site development for a mass timber modular home factory, the UO acoustics research lab and a fabrication facility at the Port of Portland’s Terminal 2. Planning for improvements will begin immediately with construction expected to begin in 2024.

“The project will create rural and urban jobs with products grown and manufactured right here in Oregon. The innovations will enable production of high-quality building products from low-quality wood. This will increase housing, provide jobs and promote forest health. That means more homes at lower costs, new workforce opportunities and more climate-resilient communities," Port of Portland Executive Director Curtis Robinhold said in the news release.

Sustainable sourcing

ODF will receive funding to implement forest restoration projects within the Willamette National Forest to improve resilience, reduce wildfire risk and provide sustainable sources for mass timber production. Resilience treatments will utilize a materials track-and-trace program to improve accountability for resource collection and use.

Smart forestry initiative

OSU will get funding to help modernize forest restoration practices, including improved forest inventory mapping, enhanced forest worker health and safety and efficiency in wood supply chain activities. OSU also will develop workforce training curriculum to promote employment in the forest and wood products industry.

Model development codes

The Department of Land Conservation and Development will modernize development codes to support the use of mass timber in newly built modular workforce housing in 10 communities, prioritizing those impacted by the 2020 wildfires. It will serve as a model for communities aiming to use mass timber in housing.

Contact reporter Adam Duvernay at aduvernay@registerguard.com. Follow on Twitter @DuvernayOR.

This article originally appeared on Register-Guard: Oregon Mass Timber Coalition receives $41.4M federal grant