Mt Scott Community Center
Retrofit and expansion project using sustainably sourced mass timber.
The Mount Scott Community Center (MSCC) Project involved a full seismic upgrade and remodel of the Mount Scott Community Center in SE Portland. Sustainable Northwest first partnered with the project in early 2022 to support responsible wood sourcing, ultimately helping to secure mass timber from Kalesnikoff.
Follow the wood's journey from forest to manufacturer to building below.
West Kootenays, BC
Kalesnikoff Mass Timber
Mt Scott Community Center
Where it started:
West Kootenays, B.C.
The wood for this project was sourced from Kalesnikoff, a mill and mass timber fabricator in interior British Columbia. Kalesnikoff owns and manages their own forestlands, purchases wood from other nearby landowners, and implements timber sales for the BC government through BC Timber Sales on public forestlands. The wood for the Mt Scott Community Center came from a range of sources throughout the West Kootenays of British Columbia, where the primary goals of forest management are wildfire risk reduction, pest management (especially for Douglas-fir Beetle), and economic benefit.
What was created:
Kalesnikoff Mass Timber
Kalesnikoff is vertically integrated, meaning they manage their own forestlands and mill, and utilize their own lumber to manufacture Cross Laminated Timber (CLT) and Glulam Beams. Due to their openness and generosity - and because they are vertically integrated - Kalesnikoff provides a unique opportunity for regional timber traceability and transparency. They shared wood source transparency for the Mt Scott Community Center, with no direct financial benefit or project requirements. This changes the way projects engage with wood markets and is critical for a meaningful relationship between forests and the communities they supply. Their location in our PNW bio-region reduces costs and emissions for sourcing wood and promotes ecological goals.
The final product:
Mt Scott Community Center
The Mount Scott retrofit and expansion is built to better serve Portlanders, both present and future. The project completed all of the following: expand the fitness center, add a new aerobics room and three new classrooms, meeting spaces, expand the lobby, and add a new commercial kitchen for the event hall. The project successfully implemented mass timber into the building, one of the first City of Portland projects to do so, setting the stage for future renovations and retrofits to utilize mass timber and maximize wood product usage.
Designers, builders, and other contributors
Developer – City of Portland Parks & Recreation
Architect – FFA Architecture and Interiors
Engineer – ABHT Structural Engineers
General Contractor – Bremik Construction
Timber Fabricator and Erector – Carpentry Plus Inc.
Mass Timber Supplier – Kalesnikoff
Photo credits to Kalesnikoff, and FFA Architecture & Interiors. Video credit to Sustainable Northwest and Flowerhead Productions.