ATLANTA, Ga. & NEW YORK — Two Accelerator City initiatives in New York and Georgia (NYC Mass Timber Studio and Georgia Forestry Foundation's Mass Timber Hub Series) recently celebrated 10 mass timber buildings selected for program support. Developed in partnership with the USDA Forest Service and supported by the U.S. Endowment for Forestry and Communities, the Softwood Lumber Board's Accelerator Cities Program provides targeted funding, technical assistance, and local industry engagement to help high-opportunity cities pilot and scale lumber-based building systems.

Held at the New York City Center for Architecture, the final event for the second cohort of the NYC Economic Development Corporation’s Mass Timber Studio included presentations and poster displays from the seven selected design teams. The event also included notable and encouraging engagement from the city’s Department of Buildings and Fire Department, with DOB Commissioner Ahmed Tigani noting his agency’s commitment to work with the design teams in the room.

“We have to step up to figure out how we build the foundation for you to grow,” Tigani said. “How do we use the public tools in our domain? Whether it's the rules and regulations, our relationship with the financial sector, the inspection process, or the administrative process—to make it easier to take these good ideas and bring them to more places” in the city.

The Georgia Forestry Foundation also wrapped up its Mass Timber Hub Series with an event to celebrate the three standout projects selected in its 2025 cohort. The program, which has expanded beyond Atlanta to include Mass Timber Hubs in Columbus, Savannah, Athens, and Macon, is expected to select three additional projects for a 2026 cohort.

The SLB’s city-level approach—aligning code implementation, workforce readiness, developer engagement, and partner activity in metropolitan areas with the strongest near-term conversion potential—is a key part of the implementation of the “From Niche to Mainstream” strategic plan, enabling repeatable project wins that can be scaled to additional markets. Backed by $1 million from the USDA Forest Service, $500,000 from the SLB, and $250,000 from the U.S. Endowment for Forestry and Communities, the Accelerator Cities Program will continue to deploy targeted funding to grow high-impact urban markets in 2026.

Visit this link to watch the NYC Mass Timber Studio event.