BROOKHAVEN, GA — The joint venture of McCarthy + Barnsley is celebrating the official grand opening of Brookhaven City Centre, the first mass timber municipal building in Georgia. Located just north of Atlanta at the intersection of North Druid Hills Road and Peachtree Road, the new city hall is a major milestone for Brookhaven, serving a populace of nearly 60,000 people and marking the first purpose-built city hall since the City of Brookhaven was incorporated in 2012.
Brookhaven City Centre is the only government facility in the state of Georgia built primarily using mass timber, featuring exposed wood throughout the upper levels and concrete for the parking garage. The building exemplifies a growing national trend in sustainable development, as the material offers durability, carbon sequestration benefits, and reduced construction waste.
“Brookhaven City Centre will be an incredible asset to the people who have long invested in the city’s growth, and McCarthy + Barnsley is proud to contribute to its future,” said Justis Brogan, Senior Vice President and Atlanta Business Unit Leader at McCarthy. “Our team's experience with mass timber positioned us to meet the project’s unique requirements efficiently and effectively. As we celebrate our 20th anniversary in Atlanta, we’re proud to have played a role in a development that represents both innovation and community investment.”
Spanning 58,250 square feet, approximately 60 percent of the building is dedicated to public use, including community gathering spaces, a rooftop garden, a multi-purpose event hall, a catering kitchen, a coffee shop, rentable meeting rooms, public restrooms, and an Explore Brookhaven visitor store. The remaining 40 percent houses administrative offices for city operations such as the Mayor and Council offices, City Manager, Finance, Human Resources, and more.
The new city hall required a skilled labor force specialized in mass timber construction to assemble the engineered wood panels into a finished structure. The team navigated various nuances of the construction that differ from concrete and steel, including maneuvering the large pieces of timber within a tight space and unloading and reloading logistics.
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"Brookhaven City Center establishes a new standard for municipal design in Georgia, and we're proud to have helped realize this vision," said Rob Schulten, Barnsley Construction Group. "The project's use of mass timber — the first for a city building in Georgia — demonstrates our commitment to sustainable and efficient construction practices, allowing for a faster build and a smaller environmental footprint."
Designed by the Sizemore Group to achieve WELL Gold and LEED certification, the building prominently features a three-story atrium with a skylight that is positioned in the center of the structure.
McCarthy + Barnsley is a partnership formed in 2020 between McCarthy Building Companies and Barnsley Construction Group, a women-owned firm headquartered in Atlanta. Brookhaven City Centre is the sixth project to be launched by the joint venture. The construction team’s full scope of work includes the relocation of existing utilities and sewer lines, model-based estimating, trade partner coordination, and VR visualization of interior spaces.
