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Construction of the tallest wood-framed commercial building in the United States is poised to start in Portland in the near future, and Mayor Ted Wheeler took to the podium Thursday to tout that fact.

Planned in the Pearl District as a 12-story mixed-use building, Framework will feature cutting-edge cross-laminated timber. The 148-foot-tall building will offer approximately 90,000 square feet of floor space and 60 units of affordable housing in one of the city’s most affluent neighborhoods.

Wheeler spoke at the third annual International Mass Timber Conference at the Oregon Convention Center in support of the project, which has garnered international acclaim and substantial grant money. Even the city has put its money where its proverbial mouth is, awarding Framework some $6 million via the Housing Bureau’s Fast Starts program backing affordable housing.

鈥淚t’s the first high-rise structure in the U.S. (to be) built from cross-laminated timber,鈥� Wheeler said. 鈥淎nd in addition to being (a seismically) resilient building, this technology allows us to build taller and more environmentally sustainable buildings.鈥�

Last year, Framework, designed by LEVER Architecture, won the $1.5 million U.S. Tall Wood Building Prize from the U.S. Department of Agriculture, the Softwood Lumber Board and the Binational Softwood Lumber Council. The project also has received grants from the U.S. Forest Service, Metro, the Hewlett Foundation, the Harbourton Foundation, the Edwards Mother Earth Foundation and the Oregon Community Foundation.

Private financing also will help pay for the approximately $29 million project, although the process to finalize those terms has resulted in delays.

Developers aim to use at least 50 percent locally sourced wood in construction, which will take an estimated 14 months to complete.

D.R. Johnson Lumber Co. of Riddle is the supplier of the CLT components of the project, while engineering is being carried out by KPFF Engineering of Portland. Walsh Construction will be the general contractor.

Framework also will demonstrate the long-term potential of mass-timber construction, including CLT, Wheeler said.

鈥淲e’ve taken a timber innovation and put it in the heart of Portland, Oregon,鈥� Wheeler said. 鈥淲e have made it uniquely about the needs of Portland in terms of sustainability, environmental resilience, earthquake resilience and concern about the cost of housing in our community.鈥�

Ground was initially supposed to be broken by March 1, but that date has now been pushed back.

Wheeler, a grandson of late timber magnate Coleman Wheeler, mentioned that mass-timber construction has potential to bolster the timber industry in Oregon. But questions will need to be answered first.

鈥淚t’s essential to sustainably manage our forests,鈥� he said. 鈥淎s new technology like CLT comes on line we’re going to see more conversation about sustainable harvest methods used in production.鈥�

Framework, he acknowledged, has not been without controversy. Opponents have questioned the project cost, which is greater than a comparable concrete and steel structure, and the source of the wood to be used in the building.

Locally, environmental groups are worried that mass-timber technology will encourage timber companies to overharvest Oregon’s private and state-owned forests. That sentiment was expressed in a letter sent in January to Wheeler from the Audubon Society of Portland and representatives of a host of local groups, including Oregon Wild, the Center for Sustainable Economy, the Sierra Club’s Oregon chapter and others.

鈥淭his isn’t just another building material,鈥� Wheeler said. 鈥淭his has the opportunity to help us solve our community’s key challenges around development, around sustainability, around climate change and around employments in rural parts of America. That’s what’s at stake here.鈥�