Developer Gets $250K Federal Grant to Use Engineered Lumber

Waterstone Properties Group announced that it had received a $250,000 Wood Innovations Grant from the U.S. Department of Agriculture to build the first commercial structure in Maine using cross-laminated timber.

The project is a 150,000 square foot office building with 30,000 square feet of retail space on the first floor. “Waterstone’s goal is to help pioneer the commercial adoption of cross-laminated timber to and support the attraction of a CLT manufacturer to Maine,” the company said in a press release. “The use of sustainably sourced CLT will also reduce the project’s carbon footprint compared to traditional steel and concrete construction.”

A recent study in the publication Nature Communications concluded that a shift of 90% of new urban population into wood midrise construction could save an additional 106 gigatons of additional CO₂ from entering the atmosphere by 2100.

Waterstone estimates that a switch to wood from concrete and steel could reduce the building’s materials carbon footprint by up to 30%.

But what might catch the attention of developers at least as much is getting federal money to build a project—at least if it’s making innovative use of wood products.

“The USDA Forest Service Wood Innovations Program expands and creates markets for wood products and wood energy that support long-term, sustainable management of National Forest System lands and other forest lands,” write the agency. “The program has two national competitive grants programs, as well as project activities funded under discretionary agreements and annual work plans.”

The award program for 2022, which had a deadline of January 19, 2022, was opened for entries in October 2021. There was funding “to support projects that will substantially expand and accelerate wood products and wood energy markets throughout the United States to support forest management needs on National Forest System and other forest lands.” The maximum award for a project was $250,000.

The goal of the program is to “to expand the use of wood products, strengthen emerging wood markets, and support active management to improve forest health and resilience, especially in light go the ongoing nationwide wildfire crisis,” according to Waterstone. “The grants, comprising $32 million in federal funds from the USDA Forest Service and $93 million in partner funds, were awarded to 99 projects across the country.”

Although unclear whether the program extends into the coming year, this is a reminder for CRE businesses to investigate what government programs, federal or state, might offer specific awards and benefits.