PORTLAND, OR (KOIN/CNN) - The city of Portland, OR, will soon have the first all-wood, high-rise building in the United States.
It will have offices for Beneficial State Bank and subsidized housing up above, all of it wrapped in Oregon timber.
Architect Thomas Robinson compared the building to delicious food that's good for you.
The building will use cross-laminated timber capable of sustaining the elements.
The project won a $1.5 million grant that they used to help fund 40 different tests, including one at Portland State showing how the wood would hold up in an earthquake.
They're making the test results available to everyone to make the process for the next wood high-rise a lot easier.
Construction for framework will get started this fall. They're expecting to finish the building by the end of next year.
The completed building will have 90,000 square feet. That's as big as they're legally allowed to build it in that spot.
Copyright 2017 KOIN via CNN. All rights reserved.
