1510 Webster

Significant cost and schedule savings distinguish this norm-breaking tall mass timber project. The 19-story apartment building was developed to provide affordable housing for ‘the missing middle,’ households earning 80% of the area’s median income.

Built with veneer-based CLT columns and panels, the high-rise structure features an innovative point-supported design which eliminated the need for any beams. Because the wood structure was so lightweight, the design also reduced foundation requirements and cut the need for one of the building’s concrete cores, saving $2 million.

The project team conducted structural testing that allowed them to change from what would have been a 10x10 into a 12x15-foot grid, reducing the number of required columns by 47 per floor. Designed as the first prescriptive Type IV-A building in the U.S., the developer realized $30 million in savings over a comparable concrete option, even though wood surfaces exposed to the building’s interior had to be covered with three layers of drywall. All 16 floors of mass timber were installed in less than four months and the structure topped out more than a month ahead of schedule.


See the WoodWorks Case Study on 1510 Webster.

See the Mass Timber in Affordable Multi-Family Housing Paper by WoodWorks.