Nashville’s $9-million, 18,500-sq-ft, two-story office building for the Community Foundation of Middle Tennessee is a 99% mass timber building that connects Middle Tennessee’s leading charities to funding and nonprofit support.

Cross-laminated timber (CLT), new to the Nashville market, is the basis of the Skanska design and embodies carbon that is drastically lower than concrete and steel construction. The project includes a two-story main office that consists of meeting spaces, offices and a reception area.

While most mass-timber projects use CLT for beams, columns and floors, this project incorporates 666 pieces of CLT into exterior walls, roof panels, glulam beams and stairs, then wraps the exterior of the building in a traditional air and water barrier with a finished brick facade.

Despite the challenges of shipping delays for mass timber and roofing material delays during the COVID-19 pandemic, the project was completed on schedule and on budget at the brownfield site.

The Community Foundation of Middle Tennessee has served as a leader in philanthropy for 30 years, bringing “good people and good causes together” in 43 counties in Middle Tennessee and Kentucky.