Mass Timber
Title of Tallest Mass Timber Building Could Come Back to Milwaukee
The City of Milwaukee has selected a team of C.D. Smith Construction and Thornton Tomasetti to develop and build both The Edison, a 32-story residential tower (pictured), and The Marcus Center, a multi-use development that would feature a residential tower that would have 55 stories.
Rendering courtesy of Neutral
Plans are gaining momentum in Milwaukee for two mass timber-concrete hybrid buildings, including one that would rise more than 50 stories tall and thereby gain the title of the tallest such structure in the world.
C.D. Smith Construction, based in Fond du Lac, Wis., is the contractor for both projects. The structural engineer is Thornton Tomasetti. Both firms were part of teams selected by the City of Milwaukee to develop and build both The Edison, a 32-story residential tower, and for The Marcus Center, a multi-use development with a residential tower that would have 55 stories.
The world’s tallest mass timber hybrid structure currently poised to take the title is the Atlassian Tower in Sydney, Australia, which is under construction, says Daniel Glaessl, partner and CPO at The Neutral Group, developer of both The Edison and The Marcus Center.
"With the mass timber hybrid system we are using we can build up to approximately 60 stories without triggering major engineering challenges," Glaessl says.
Madison, Wis.-based Neutral recently secured $133.3 million in construction financing for The Edison, which Dodge Construction Network reports is a $200-million project.
The company expects to begin construction this spring on the 378-unit Edison, which will be built on a site along the Milwaukee River. The Edison was first proposed in 2021 as a 15-story, $60-million building, but has more than doubled in height.
“The tower height was increased to improve development efficiency and economics,” Glaessl says.
Plans for The Edison also entail two public plazas on the north and south ends of the development site, 7,000 sq ft of retail space on the tower’s first floor, an amenity floor and 288 parking spaces.
C.D. Smith was chosen for both The Edison and Marcus projects “based on their decades of expertise in Wisconsin, and specifically their expertise with timber high rise projects," Glaessl says.
Plans for the even-taller tower hinge on financing. The estimated cost for The Marcus is $700 million. Earning the right to develop the project in August 2024, Neutral has a year-long window, with possible extensions, to gain financing for it.
The Marcus development would be built via phases in place of a demolished parking garage next to the Marcus Performing Arts Center. It would encompass three buildings, include up to 750 residential units, 190,000 sq ft of office space, 40,000 sq ft of retail space, 300 hotel rooms, 1,100 parking spaces and public plazas.
Milwaukee Mayor Cavalier Johnson says The Marcus Center will contribute to his goal of growing the city’s population to more than 1,00,0000.
“To do that, we need to be aggressive and reach for new heights,” he said in a news release. “This project will help us do just that, literally aiming to set local and global records, but just as importantly add density and activity to an underutilized city-controlled parcel in downtown Milwaukee.”
Milwaukee is also home to the Ascent which, at 25 stories tall, was certified in 2022 as the world's tallest mass concrete-hybrid timber building.
While having the world's tallest mass timber-concrete hybrid building would be a nice accolade, Glaessl says that's not what is driving the projects.
"For us, the achievement of our sustainability goals has the highest priority," he says, adding that his firm will pursue both PassiveHouse and Living Building Challenge certifications for The Edison, which “will require a high level of integrated design delivery and closely managed construction execution protocols from all parties involved to achieve the performance goals needed.”
