Page 8 - Georgia Forestry - Winter2017

INNOVATION
Timber on
“In the future, I see the market for CLT
growing ... The
United States is now manufacturing
CLT panels in the Northwest ... I think it is only a matter of time that CLT panels will
be manufactured in the Southeast because of the availability
of our sustainable forest resource and our forest product manufacturing capacity.”
— Dr. Joseph Dahlen, assistant professor at the University of Georgia’s Warnell School of Forestry and Natural Resources and forest products director of the Wood Quality Consortium
the Rise
by Frank Reddy
Atlanta project to attract tenants who want ‘something unique’
While the notion of tall wood — also known as mass timber — is still at an early stage in America, it’s an idea experts think could soon play a much larger role in U.S. city skylines. In Midtown, developer Hines has plans for a building made of cross-laminated timber — much like one the company recently built in Minneapolis (the largest such project in the country) that opened at the end of November.
Located near the Millennium Gate on 17th Street, the planned seven-story Atlantic Station development will be about 220,000 square feet, according to John Heagy, southeast region senior
managing director for Hines. There’s currently no clear timeline as of yet, but Heagy said more details will soon be released. He added that the Minneapolis project has been “hugely successful, widely accepted, and we expect we’ll have the same experience here in Atlanta.”
In terms of occupants, he said Hines hopes to attract tech or consulting type tenants — “someone who wants some- thing unique, something different than just a glass or steel structure.” ■
JOURNALIST FRANK REDDY COVERS BUSINESS, HARD NEWS AND ATLANTA FOR A VARIETY OF PUBLICATIONS. HE LIVES AND WORKS IN ATLANTA.
6 | GEORGIA FORESTRY
EMA PETER