Construction recently kicked off for Oxbow, a mass timber multifamily community in Charlotte’s The Mill District. The $97.8 million project, consisting of 389 rental units and 14,300 sf of commercial space, sits on 4.3 acres that formerly housed four commercial buildings. The street-level retail is designed for boutiques, coffee shops, and other neighborhood services.
The structure will be composed of a two-story concrete podium housing below-grade parking, topped with a five-story hybrid structure of stick frame with cross laminated timber slab. About 50% of the structure will feature exposed mass timber ceilings using Austrian Spruce timber.
Sustainability elements include high SEER-rated HVAC systems, energy-efficient appliances, and rooftop solar panels to power amenity areas. Tenants will have access to shared e-bikes, e-scooters, and electric cars. The project is seeking a silver rating by the National Green Building Standard, the only green building rating system for homes and apartments approved by the American National Standards Institute (ANSI).
The 389 rental units range from studio apartments to four-bedroom units. Amenities include a gym, rooftop patio, bike storage, and a resident courtyard.
“The project is complex due to its hybrid structure and the site’s tight conditions,” says Kevin Smith, vice president, division manager of Swinerton’s Carolinas Division. Swinerton is deploying OpenSpace, a 3-D modeling technology that collects data via helmet devices during walk-throughs to deliver exact models of the space for documentation, reference, and planning. “This tool is vital to our success on this project by establishing efficiencies and maximizing precision,” Smith says.
Oxbow is Swinerton’s third endeavor with the national multifamily developer Space Craft, known for building walkable, urban communities.
Owner and/or developer: Space Craft
Design architect: Shook Kelly
Architect of record: Shook Kelly
MEP engineer: Charlotte Mechanical Engineering is the Plumbing/HVAC EOR (Design Build)
Jordan Skala is the Electrical EOR (Design Build) under our electrician (Romanoff)
Century Fire is the Fire protection EOR (Design build)
Structural engineer: Brit Peters and Associates
General contractor/construction manager: Swinerton
Related Stories
Mass Timber | Oct 25, 2024
Mass timber achieves ‘firsts’ in three more markets
Sustainability and aesthetics continue to drive this product’s demand.
Sustainable Design and Construction | Oct 10, 2024
Northglenn, a Denver suburb, opens a net zero, all-electric city hall with a mass timber structure
Northglenn, Colo., a Denver suburb, has opened the new Northglenn City Hall—a net zero, fully electric building with a mass timber structure. The 32,600-sf, $33.7 million building houses 60 city staffers. Designed by Anderson Mason Dale Architects, Northglenn City Hall is set to become the first municipal building in Colorado, and one of the first in the country, to achieve the Core certification: a green building rating system overseen by the International Living Future Institute.
Mass Timber | Sep 26, 2024
5 lessons in water mitigation for mass timber projects
Sustainability leaders from Skanska, RDH, and Polygon share five tips for successful water mitigation in mass timber construction.
Mass Timber | Sep 17, 2024
Marina del Rey mixed-use development is L.A.’s largest mass timber project
An office-retail project in Marina del Rey is Los Angeles’ largest mass timber project to date. Encompassing about 3 acres, the 42XX campus consists of three low-rise buildings that seamlessly connect with exterior walkways and stairways. The development provides 151,000 sf of office space and 1,500 sf of retail space.
Airports | Aug 22, 2024
Portland opens $2 billion mass timber expansion and renovation to its international airport
This month, the Portland International Airport (PDX) main terminal expansion opened to passengers. Designed by ZGF for the Port of Portland, the 1 million-sf project doubles the capacity of PDX and enables the airport to welcome 35 million passengers per year by 2045.
Mass Timber | Jun 26, 2024
Oregon State University builds a first-of-its-kind mass timber research lab
In Corvallis, Oreg., the Jen-Hsun Huang and Lori Mills Huang Collaborative Innovation Complex at Oregon State University aims to achieve a distinction among the world’s experimental research labs: It will be the first all-mass-timber lab meeting rigorous vibration criteria (2000 micro-inches per second, or MIPS).
Mass Timber | Jun 17, 2024
British Columbia hospital features mass timber community hall
The Cowichan District Hospital Replacement Project in Duncan, British Columbia, features an expansive community hall featuring mass timber construction. The hall, designed to promote social interaction and connection to give patients, families, and staff a warm and welcoming environment, connects a Diagnostic and Treatment (“D&T”) Block and Inpatient Tower.
Mass Timber | Jun 10, 2024
5 hidden benefits of mass timber design
Mass timber is a materials and design approach that holds immense potential to transform the future of the commercial building industry, as well as our environment.
Mass Timber | May 31, 2024
Mass timber a big part of Western Washington University’s net-zero ambitions
Western Washington University, in Bellingham, Wash., 90 miles from Seattle, is in the process of expanding its ABET-accredited programs for electrical engineering, computer engineering and science, and energy science. As part of that process, the university is building Kaiser Borsari Hall, the 54,000-sf new home for those academic disciplines that will include teaching labs, research labs, classrooms, collaborative spaces, and administrative offices.
Mass Timber | May 22, 2024
3 mass timber architecture innovations
As mass timber construction evolves from the first decade of projects, we're finding an increasing variety of mass timber solutions. Here are three primary examples.
