Unique, sustainable mass timber housing coming to Madison

MADISON, Wis. (WMTV) - A first of its kind apartment building is under construction in Madison.

The Madison and Janesville architecture and design firm Angus-Young broke ground last Friday, kicking off the multi-million dollar project.

The sustainably focused apartment complex will be Madison’s first mass timber high rise. The building will be 14 stories with 206 units ranging from studios to 3 bedroom units.

The building industry is 39 percent of the global CO2 emissions, according to a report published by Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change.

“Mass timber inherently is more sustainable than concrete. It has significantly less embodied carbon than concrete does,” Jeff Davis, Principal Architect and Vice President of Angus-Young, said.

The City of Madison has goals to be net-zero carbon emissions by 2050.

“The building industry being one of the biggest components of carbon emissions we’ve got to start with products like mass timber so that we can help reduce those emissions and mass timber is a huge part of that,” Davis said.

These unique, luxury apartments will focus on sustainability by being built with mass timber, a lighter, quieter, and a renewable resource. It also provides superior fire resistance than standard lumbar and has biophilic health benefits (a concept used within the building industry to increase occupant connectivity to the natural environment through the use of direct nature) when left exposed.

“Building codes have changed over the past few years that allow us to do high rise mass timber. Previous to that, it was only allowed to go four stories so this is just something that is relatively new to the building industry and it’s because of advancements in fire testing and just the way that this lumber has been engineered. So, this project will have exposed wood in all of the units. It has biophilic design elements and green roofs,” Davis said.

Named “Bakers Place,” there will be 8,400 square feet of retail space at the base of the building. A portion of what was formerly Gardner Baking Co. will remain as part of the complex that fronts East Washington Ave.

“We came up with the name collectively with our design team and it was really just honoring the history of the site,” Nate Helbach, Managing Partner of The Neutral Project, said. “So it was originally a bakery in 1906, Gardner Bakery, and you’ll see that on the building signage. And were going to keep that signage there. We’re going to touch it up so it’s a little bit more prominent. But that’s why we called it Bakers Place was to honor that existing building.”

The Neutral Project is a sustainable real estate company located in Madison.

Those involved in the project are currently searching for cafes, restaurants and boutiques/shops to go in the retail space below.

The project will have exposed mass timber in every unit, high end finishes, fixtures, and an integrated technology package.

This project will also provide an EV rideshare program for residents and has a high focus on additional energy efficiency measures in both the building construction and operations of the building once complete.

The mass timber will start going up in Sept. 2023. The completion of the project is slated for Feb/March of 2025.

Currently, the tallest mass timber structure in the world is in Milwaukee. It is not designed by Angus-Young.

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