Georgia-Pacific, along with partners The Georgia Forestry Foundation and Jamestown LP, recently met with state and local leadership to discuss how prioritizing and utilizing sustainable structural building materials such as mass timber not only has a positive effect on our environment, but Georgia’s economy. The event was held at 619 Ponce, Atlanta’s first Georgia-grown and locally manufactured mass timber building, located at Ponce City Market. Attendees included U.S. Senator Reverend Raphael Warnock, along with various leaders from the state legislature and more than 40 CEOs from across the country.
The event was spearheaded by Jamestown’s Principal and CEO, Matt M. Bronfman, Andres Villegas, president and CEO of the Georgia-Forestry Foundation, and John Mulcahy, Georgia-Pacific’s vice president of stewardship.
During the event, Mulcahy shared how utilizing Georgia’s vast forest resources, and partnerships with organizations committed to sustainable building initiatives, such as Georgia Forestry Foundation’s Seedlings to Solutions, led to the soon to be completed 619 Ponce project. The attention 619 Ponce has garnered from the construction, commercial leasing, and timber industries proves that the approach – using locally-sourced Southern yellow pine to create mass timber product to build a project of this scope – opens new opportunities for the forestry and construction industries. Mulcahy also shared ideas on how the nation’s forests can deliver meaningful solutions for a more sustainable future.
The group also discussed the challenges related to development, land use, and growing populations. There is a strong demand for timber, which includes the state’s plentiful Southern yellow pine, nationwide. Wood, a constantly renewable resource, can store carbon for decades. Building with wood is also safer for construction workers, and construction companies can see hard cost savings due to a decrease in build time with wood products.
“Mass Timber is not only…
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