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The Port of Portland on Tuesday approved a lease for the University of Oregon鈥檚 acoustic research laboratory planned at the Mass Timber and Housing Innovation Campus at Terminal 2.

The Oregon Acoustic Research Laboratory (OARL) is the research and development anchor tenant planned for the campus, where the Port is transforming a former marine terminal into a manufacturing hub to support Oregon鈥檚 growing mass-timber industry, create jobs and address the region鈥檚 housing shortage.

In the state-of-the-art OARL, technicians will test acoustics of floor-to-ceiling mass-timber assemblies. Currently, there is a lack of facilities capable of accommodating such tests. OARL staff will provide certified acoustic test results needed for code compliance to increase utilization of mass-timber assemblies in low-, mid- and high-rise housing, as well as commercial buildings.

鈥淭he Oregon Acoustic Research Laboratory, the first of its kind in North America, as well as the new home for the Energy Studies in Building Laboratory, will be able to perform high-performance and high-throughput testing for sound-dampening products and construction methods, primarily targeting the reduction of sound transmission between multistory, multifamily housing units,鈥� Anshuman 鈥淎R鈥� Razdan, UO vice president for research and innovation, stated in a news release. 鈥淭he lab will be designed for the needs of both university researchers and private-sector testing.鈥�

The project team is expected to navigate the design and permitting phases in 2025. Construction would begin in 2026, with completion expected in 2027.

The Port and UO are members of the Oregon Mass Timber Coalition (OMTC), which in 2022 received a $41.4 million grant from the U.S. Economic Development Administration via its Build Back Better Regional Challenge to develop a comprehensive strategy for expanding the use of mass timber in the housing market. The grant included $10 million for the Port to invest in campus infrastructure development, and $14.6 million to facilitate development of UO鈥檚 acoustics research lab, along with OMTC projects in other areas of the state. Along with the OMTC grant, the Port received $4 million in U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development funding in 2024 and $5 million from the Oregon Legislature in 2023 for development of the campus.

In addition to approving the UO lease, the Port鈥檚 Board of Commissioners approved an agreement with Zaugg Timber Solutions (ZTS), the Oregon-based arm of Swiss company Zaugg, which has extensive experience in timber engineering, manufacturing and construction. ZTS will open an interim manufacturing facility in a warehouse previously renovated by modomi, paving the way for ZTS to partner on a new mass-timber modular factory that will be the centerpiece of the Mass Timber and Housing Innovation Campus. The Port expects a long-term lease for the permanent facility to be ready for approval in spring 2025.

When complete, the 39-acre campus will include a new factory for building modular housing and other mass-timber structures, research and development of new products and technologies, workforce training, and space to help small businesses upscale and new companies get off the ground. It also will be the new home of the UO鈥檚 Energy Studies in Buildings Laboratory. Soil stabilization and critical infrastructure improvements will take place during the next couple of years, with housing production expected to begin on-site in early 2026. Portions of the campus constructed during phase 1 should be completed and fully operational in 2028. This phase includes upriver soil stabilization, utility extensions, pavement improvements, campus-wide frontage improvements and anchor tenant spaces.