A render of Intro Columbus, an apartment complex open- ing for the 2027-28 school year, which will become the first mass timber structure in Columbus. Credit: Courtesy of Marguerite Munoz
At the corner of Ninth Avenue and High Street, a new apartment complex is likely to set some records when it starts leasing for the 2027-28 school year.
The 242,000-square-foot, 186-unit student housing building will become the first mass timber structure in Columbus, bringing a design focused on sustainability into the University District. It’s expected to hold a height record of 158 feet and 13 stories for mass timber student housing, Marguerite Munoz, a project spokesperson, said in an email.
“Every beam we put in place on this project brings us one step closer to students moving in next summer and discovering that this building looks and feels different than anything else near campus,” Mark Bell, Harbor Bay Ventures’ CEO, said in a press release. Harbor Bay Ventures, a Chicago-based real estate and investment firm, developed Intro Columbus.
The design uses exposed wood throughout the apartments, hallways and study lounges to introduce visible wood grain and a “warmer acoustic aesthetic,” according to the press release.
More specifically, the structure uses cross-laminated timber panels and prefabricated glulam, or glue-laminated, columns and beams, Munoz said, which allows for faster construction. The prefabricated materials helped the building grow at a rate of 2.5 floors every two to three weeks, Munoz said.
“Every day we save on the super- structure is a day the other trades get back, and that compounds,” Josh Dortzbach, Forefront Structural Engineers’ principal, said in a press release. “Pulling 10 weeks forward means en- closure, interior buildout and commissioning all shifts earlier.”
The building reached its topping-out milestone, or its full structural height, on Sept. 8, which was about 10 weeks ahead of its November target, according to the press release.
Intro Columbus was also designed with sustainability in mind, with the building sequestering, or storing, 1,128 metric tons of carbon compared to a steel and concrete design. The project also reduced transportation-related carbon emissions through transport from Alabama by 55 percent.
“For a building like this, reducing carbon wasn’t the only goal. It was making sure people feel the material every day,” Cameron Jacobson, DLR Group senior associate and project architect, said. “Our design made a point of keeping timber exposed everywhere a resident spends time, not just in the lobby. It’s a different kind of experience to come home to.”
Exposed timber also promotes stress reduction and calming effects, which can lower blood pressure and heart rates, Munoz said.
Since the wood is left exposed, extra layers of finish are not necessary, which makes the design more economical and sustainable, Munoz said.
“With the topping out, developer Harbor Bay Ventures is demonstrating what mass timber offers over steel and concrete: a faster build, calm, healthy living space and a strong precedent that proves tall wood buildings can be built cost-effectively and at scale us- ing regional supply chains,” Munoz said.
