ATLANTA –  Georgia’s first Georgia-grown mass timber building utilizing a regional supply chain has been completed.

Jamestown, the design-focused real estate investment and management firm behind Atlanta’s Ponce City Market, celebrated the completion of 619 Ponce. The building features a biophilic design and exposed southern yellow pine timber beams, and celebrates the use of Georgia’s vast forest resources to create a more sustainable built environment. 

“Georgia history is being made at 619 Ponce with the success of the state’s first locally sourced mass timber building,” said Senator Reverend Raphael Warnock. “With an over $40 billion annual impact and 140,000 jobs, it is no wonder Georgia is the number one forestry state in America. And this new mass timber structure at Ponce City Market reflects that might. As a member of the Senate Agriculture and Forestry Committee, I will remain a champion for Georgia’s forestry industry and ensure we support sustainable forest management, maintain our economic strength, and stimulate innovation in the industry.”

“Our vision for 619 Ponce was to create something that not only showcases the natural beauty of mass timber but also sets a new standard for sustainable development in the Southeast,” said Michael Phillips, President of Jamestown. “By sourcing our timber locally, we've been able to reduce our carbon footprint while supporting local businesses and our state's thriving forestry industry. This project is a demonstration of Jamestown’s commitment to environmental stewardship and to creating spaces that inspire and drive economic growth. We're immensely proud of the result and hope it serves as a model for future development in the region and beyond.”

619 Ponce comprises 115,000 square feet of space over four stories. The building’s biophilic design includes outdoor space on every level, natural wood columns and ceilings, and floor-to-ceiling windows with operable panels. The building targets net-zero carbon operations, LEEDv4 Core & Shell certification, and Fitwel certification. Handel Architects served as the Design Architect and Architect of Record. 

Whereas most timber for mass timber construction in the U.S. is currently sourced from Canada, Austria, or Germany, Jamestown said that 619 Ponce was constructed with timber sourced and manufactured locally. According to the company, the use of Georgia-grown timber and a regional supply chain – a first for mass timber construction in Georgia – reduces the project’s transportation emissions and the overall environmental impact of construction, maximizing the sustainability benefits of mass timber and growing the regional economy, putting Atlanta at the forefront of creating and supporting the expanding “green tech” economy.
 

“619 Ponce is a seedlings to solutions success story,” said Andres Villegas, President & CEO of the Georgia Forestry Foundation. “Jamestown has set the bar on how innovation and collaboration in a local forestry supply chain can unlock meaningful reductions in carbon emissions while supporting Georgia’s greatest natural asset – its working forests.”

The building’s columns, beams, and floor slabs are made of local southern yellow pine sawtimber harvested from Georgia forests, including from timberland Jamestown owns and sustainably manages near Columbus, Georgia. Jamestown owns and sustainably manages more than 100,000 acres of timberlands across Georgia, Alabama, South Carolina, New York, Pennsylvania, and Indiana. The timberland is managed under the 2022 SFI® Forest Management Standard, which provides third-party verification of sustainable forestry management based on several factors, including measures to protect water quality, biodiversity, wildlife habitat, and threatened and endangered species.

The sawtimber was transported to Georgia-Pacific’s sawmill in Albany, Georgia, where it was converted into lumber. The lumber was then transported to SmartLam’s mass timber plant in Dothan, Alabama, where it was converted into cross laminated timber (CLT) panels and glue laminated columns and beams. The CLT panels were erected on site at Ponce City Market by StructureCraft and JE Dunn.

The use of locally sourced mass timber at 619 Ponce complements Jamestown’s broader sustainability commitments. The real estate investment and management firm has committed to achieve net zero operational carbon by 2050 and adopted all 17 of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals.