Springfield aims to take lead on next timber wave


Mayor Christine Lundberg wants to invest in cross-laminated timber, a potential gamechanger for rural Oregon.

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BY JACOB PALMER | DIGITAL NEWS EDITOR

Mayor Christine Lundberg wants to invest in cross-laminated timber, seen by some as a potential gamechanger for rural Oregon.

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The Register-Guard reports:

Lundberg wants the wooden parking garage built on a stretch of riverfront­ as redevelopment takes hold in the down-at-the-heels area in coming years. City officials have yet to secure any money for the project, which they envisioned at this point as being publicly funded. The mayor is jumping on a small bandwagon already carrying some business leaders and academics around the state who believe CLT could jump-start the state’s timber industry. To help shepherd the project from vision to reality, city officials have enlisted University of Oregon architecture students to take a first stab at designing the parking garage. Meanwhile, Oregon State University and the UO are seeking to join forces on a research center to develop and test new advanced wood products to help the state capitalize on opportunities in the domestic and global marketplaces.

“It’s bigger than just that one demonstration project,” Lundberg said of the proposed parking garage.