Crosswood Apartments featured in DJC Oregon
Trendy material starting to pop up in Eugene
By Chuck Slothower
DJC Oregon
February 3, 2022
Crosswood Apartments, a six-story, 127-unit building, will be near the University of Oregon in Eugene. John Hyland Construction is expected to complete the project later this year. (courtesy of CDC Management Corp.)
A six-story multifamily building on the rise in Eugene will be the first residential development in the city to be made of structural cross-laminated timber.
Crosswood Apartments will offer 127 units near the University of Oregon campus. They’re intended to serve professionals – particularly those working at the fast-growing Knight Campus for Accelerating Scientific Impact.
“We’re catering to the Knight science campus researchers and faculty, the UO faculty, post-docs, researchers,” said Philip Farrington, director of planning and real estate development for project owner CDC Management Corp. “That’s our primary market – as well as professionals of all stripes who want to live so close to the halo of campus.”
Eugene lacks multifamily options for professionals, said Mark Miksis, a partner in Eugene-based deChase Miksis Development – the project’s development representative.
“Eugene has just not had the expansion of multifamily units outside of student housing over the years that it probably should have had,” Miksis said. “It’s a strong market to be coming into right now.”
The property at 1841 Garden Ave., between Millrace Drive and Villard Street, has long been owned by the Chambers family, which has substantial business interests in the Willamette Valley. CDC Management Corp. is one of the family’s real estate businesses. Family members also own or owned television station KEZI, Silvan Ridge Winery, a food processing company and an auto dealership among other ventures. They also have been involved in several high-profile commercial property developments in Eugene.
Crosswood will feature a concrete podium topped by five stories of wood framing. It will ascend to about 59 feet, below the 65-foot height limit for the property.
Though near a university campus, Crosswood Apartments was designed to appeal to professional workers. (Rowell Brokaw Architects)
Cross-laminated timber buildings have proliferated in Portland, but have only begun to show up in Eugene. A farmers market pavilion and plaza under construction in Eugene will have CLT wall and roof panels. A building at the Knight science campus has CLT for staircases. But Crosswood will stand out among multifamily buildings in the city.
“The ownership had an interest in doing something innovative and distinctive,” Farrington said.
Crosswood’s CLT will come from Structurlam, a manufacturer based in British Columbia. The materials were competitively bid.
Rowell Brokaw Architects’ design showcases the CLT materials, Miksis said.
“We’re going to have exposed ceilings in all of our living spaces,” he said.
“This really will expose the wood. We’re able to run our windows right up to the underside of the ceiling, which makes a difference in lighting the room.”
The ground floor will feature townhome-style units with exterior doors as well as access from the building’s interior. A large entry plaza will be available for events. The ground floor will also have a leasing office, space for mail services, secure storage and amenity space.
John Hyland Construction began work in July 2021 and is expected to finish this fall – most likely in November, Farrington said.
“This is going to be a distinctive project in the marketplace, not only for its construction technology – CLT – but its location is unparalleled,” he said.
