March 2026 Newsletter: Projects, News & Events

Phase II Submitted: What’s Next?

The PNW Mass Timber Tech Hub team has submitted all the materials required to complete our Phase II application to the EDA Tech Hub funding competition. The submission was a great team effort that highlighted the benefits of the public/private partnership model.

The PNW Mass Timber Tech Hub slide deck and pitch video are available to members upon request. Please reach out to Marcus Kauffman to request a copy.

While we await a late Spring decision, we are focused on:

• Refining governance for clarity and execution
• Identifying early implementation priorities
• Strengthening cross-state and cross-industry coordination
• Advancing aligned communications and market visibility

Thank you to the nearly 50 leaders who shaped this submission through the January Growth & Governance Workshop. Workshop presentations, an attendee list, robust notes, and select photos can be found here.

Capital Investment Project: Input Requested

Capital sources, their investment allocators, developers and brokers were asked what help is needed to underwrite mass timber investment proposals. A draft of these key financial and real asset considerations is now available for your review - across both manufacturing (OpEx / CapEx) and real estate development perspectives.  

Feedback to Noel Johnson is welcomed, especially in regards to:

1. Are you or your colleagues working on research which would provide answers to any of the topics at levels needed for fiduciary reliance?  
2. Do you have suggestions on how to explain these topics in ways that might be more universally understandable? Access the PDF link here.

Research Input Opportunity: Mass Timber Acoustics

A new field research initiative led by George Kourtis – Liniar Studio, Mike Raley – UO Acoustic Research Laboratory, and Mark Fretz – UO Dept. of Architecture aims to collect acoustic performance data for mass timber wall and ceiling assemblies in order to to reduce adoption barriers. These partners are currently in the process of applying for a USDA Wood Innovations Grant and have requested input from the mass timber community on the following 2 questions to help inform the application:

1. Based on your experience, how many projects and across what time frame where mass timber was considered but not adopted were because of apprehension around acoustic performance?
2. Can you give us a rough estimate of what quantity of mass timber those projects would have utilized? (Please use board feet to standardize data.)
   

Please email George Kourtis – Liniar Studio with your responses.

2026 Storytelling: PBS and more

We’re thrilled to celebrate that the Oregon Mass Timber Coalition will be featured in a new All Access with Andy Garcia segment on mass timber innovation. Tell your friends and get your watch party group chats going!

Check out the OMTC mass timber short films if you missed them. Use these to spam your group chats. Featuring projects at Portland State University and Oregon State University, the film makes it clear: mass timber is proven, scalable, and ready for both public and private buildings.

• Watch the full film: Oregon Mass Timber: Ready for Primetime
• Watch the companion shorts: The Warmth of Wood; Fabulous Fabrication—It’s a Joy; Mass Timber Within Reach
  

Feel free to upload the film directly to your Youtube account using this Dropbox file for the high-res version. You can find the shorts and social media optimized versions here.  

‍A reminder that we are actively seeking:

• Projects or pilots launching this year
• Workforce or supply chain signals
• Quotes or demand data
• Third-party validation or research

Send examples and stories to Marcus Kauffman —we want to highlight the momentum across the region.

Events & Gatherings

Join Us for Lunch at IMTC 2026 in Portland

Wednesday, April 1 | 12:15 PM PT in Room A106

Bring your conference lunch and join the PNW Mass Timber Tech Hub for an informal gathering. New and prospective members are especially encouraged to attend, meet peers, and mingle.

Please RSVP so we can plan for room size.

Can’t make it or want more chances to connect? Stop by the joint PNW MTTH + OMTC Booth 113 in the Expo Hall at IMTC.

Mass Timber Workforce Opportunities Webinar

Wednesday, March 11 | 11:00 AM–12:00 PM (PST) on Zoom. RSVP here.

Mass timber is opening doors across advanced manufacturing and construction, and this session is designed for workforce partners, career coaches, CTE counselors, and anyone guiding students and jobseekers toward meaningful careers. You’ll learn:

• What mass timber is and why it matters for Oregon’s future
• Current training and education pathways
• A first look at new workforce videos, including a spotlight on a CNC professional at Timberlab
  

This work is part of a broader regional training effort focused on creating inclusive access to high-quality, family-supporting jobs in Oregon’s growing mass timber industry.

Market signals

Federal Wood Innovation & Growth Grants

The U.S. Forest Service has opened the 2026 Wood Innovation Grants program supporting:

• Advanced wood product commercialization
• Hazardous fuels utilization
• Rural manufacturing capacity
• Forest resilience linked with economic development

There is clear continued federal alignment with regional mass timber growth and innovation.

U.S. Army Market Milestone

Construction began on the Army’s largest mass timber project to date at Joint Base Lewis-McChord — a five-story, 105,000 SF barracks housing 200 soldiers. Beginning in 2027, every Army vertical construction project must evaluate at least one mass timber structural option, influencing $16.7B annually in Military Construction funding. The Army is sending a clear institutional market signal.

New research: Modular mass timber in housing

New research identifies 15 critical success factors driving modular mass timber adoption, highlighting sustainability and logistics as primary system drivers, not fiber availability. Housing demands speed, cost control, and carbon performance. Modular mass timber can deliver—when approached as a systems strategy, not a product substitution. This research also offers practical insights to facilitate scalable, cost-effective, and environmentally sustainable housing solutions.

With funding provided by the US Economic Development Administration to Oregon State University, we are laying the foundation for our shared vision of a globally competitive industry in mass timber.

— The PNW Mass Timber Tech Hub Team

Marcus Kauffman, ODF, Tech Hub Regional Innovation Officer (RIO)

Iain Macdonald, OSU, Hub Director

*A reminder that the Tech Hub is open to organizations, agencies, educational institutions, and nonprofit partners across OR, WA, ID, and MT.  With a full value chain focus across forest management, harvest, and milling to design, manufacturing, and construction and including those providing products, services, innovation, or infrastructure, members share a commitment to collaborative efforts to expand sustainable wood use, strengthen the regional mass timber industry, and position it for global competitiveness.