Membertou First Nation Building Area’s First Mass Timber Commercial Building Near Sydney, NS

The Membertou First Nation near Sydney, Cape Breton, Nova Scotia, is building the area’s first mass timber commercial building, a 92,000-square-foot office complex as part of the community’s new 35-acre retail and service district, according to a feature by Daily Commercial News (8-2-24).

But it almost didn’t happen. The original request for proposal (RFP) called for a traditional concrete and steel project, but one of the five submissions promoted mass timber instead. “We had no experience with mass timber but number two chief and council decided that would be the way we’d go,” Gerry Lalonde, architect/project manager of the Membertou Corporate Division, said.

The mass timber design submitted by Dora Construction offered a green solution, quick erection, and cost savings over concrete, he says. “The steel option was comparable to mass timber in cost but at the time steel availability was in question.”

Lalonde says there were enough similarities between the original plan in reinforced concrete and the mass timber alternative that changes were relatively straightforward. The size and layout in the schematic design remained intact. The mass timber structure consists of glulam columns and beams and cross-laminated floors. The elevator core is concrete block, and the stairs are steel.

Erected in 16-weeks, the five-story structure was supplied by Quebec-based Nordic Structures. It used a team of carpenters for the installation and a crew from Dora Construction, the project’s construction manager, did the finishing work including fastening systems such as deck panels.

“It was the fastest erection I have ever seen,” says Lalonde.

The 20-month project, which will open next summer, will cost close to $30 million. Indigenous Services Canada will provide about $1.8 million.