June 21, 2023

Atlanta - It's a "topping off" celebration like no other.

The final mass timber beam for 619 Ponce, the first Georgia-grown mass timber project, was recently set into place.

Georgia-Pacific's lumber business played a key role in this endeavor, partnering with Jamestown, a global real estate investment and management firm that operates Ponce, and SmartLam North America, a building material supplier.

"We see mass timber as important to GP because it’s a growing construction type and we believe it’s has the potential to expand lumber demand significantly," said Fritz Mason, President of Georgia-Pacific Lumber. "So we want to be on the ground floor, work with the laminators and developers like Jamestown so we’re going to be the preferred supplier for such projects.”

Traditionally, timber for mass timber construction has been shipped from Europe. However, this project taps into the resources in Georgia's own backyard reducing the project’s transportation emissions and the overall environmental and local impact of construction, maximizing the sustainability benefits.

The saw timber was first transported to Georgia-Pacific’s facility in Albany, Georgia, where it was converted into lumber. The lumber was then transported to SmartLam’s mass timber plant in Dothan, Alabama, where it was manufactured into cross-laminated timber (CLT) panels. The CLT panels were then shipped to the construction site ready to be erected.

“Mass timber is a sustainable building material with a low carbon footprint, relative to traditional materials like concrete and steel,” said Catherine Pfeiffenberger, Managing Director and Head of Development & Construction at Jamestown. “Mass timber is also cleaner to construct, which aids in reducing carbon emissions during construction. Of equal importance, mass timber provides a warm, healthy, and welcoming work environment for the people who will occupy the space.”

The building, which includes 87,000 square feet of office space and 27,000 square feet of retail space will house Sage, an accounting, financial, HR, and payroll software company, and Pottery Barn, an upscale home furnishing store chain and e-commerce company. 619 Ponce is expected to open in 2024.

“This project aligns with our commitment to good environmental stewardship through partnering with others to experiment and innovate to responsibly create more value for society,” said John Mulcahy, GP’s vice president of stewardship. “To be able to do so in a high-profile and popular development in our hometown city is a real source of pride for us.”

Georgia-Pacific began selling new southern yellow pine plywood in late 1964. Click here to read about the story behind Southern Yellow Pine.