BROOKHAVEN, GA — The first mass timber municipal building in the state of Georgia has officially topped out, announces general contractor McCarthy + Barnsley, a joint venture. Located just north of Atlanta at the corner of North Druid Hills Road and Peachtree Road, Brookhaven City Centre will serve a populace of nearly 60,000 people. The development will include the first purpose-built city hall since the City of Brookhaven was incorporated in 2012, and is expected to be delivered in summer 2025.
Anchoring the Brookhaven City Centre mixed-use project, the five-story city hall building under construction by McCarthy + Barnsley will occupy a site adjacent to the Brookhaven MARTA rail station, replacing a former parking lot. Housing Brookhaven’s administrative offices and city council chambers, the building will include three upper levels occupied by city employees, a rooftop garden, and one level of below-grade parking comprising 70 spaces. The city hall will also sport a multi-purpose room, catering kitchen, and various support spaces for public use, in addition to easy access to nearby trails. Approximately 60 percent of the building will be allocated for use by the general public.
Brookhaven City Centre has the distinction of being the only government facility in the state of Georgia constructed using mass timber as the primary building material. The complex assembly of the wood panels was completed in September by the McCarthy + Barnsley team. The complete building structure will consist of exposed mass timber for all of the upper levels and concrete for the parking garage.
“Since we started construction last fall, our team has worked in lockstep to reach this significant milestone, which now places us in the final phases of the build-out,” said Justis Brogan, Senior Vice President and Atlanta Business Unit Leader at McCarthy Building Companies. “With Brookhaven City Centre being one of the first projects of its type and scale to feature mass timber, we leveraged our expertise in this building type to accomplish this goal. We’re thrilled to celebrate the topping out with the community and look forward to unveiling the completed project next year.”
The new city Centre required a skilled labor force specialized in mass timber construction to assemble the engineered wood panels into a finished structure. The team expertly navigated various nuances of the construction that differ from concrete and steel, including maneuvering the large pieces of timber within a tight space, unloading and reloading logistics, and familiarizing subcontractors with the correct directional positioning of the timber before installation.
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Known for its long-term durability and carbon-sequestering nature, mass timber is quickly becoming a popular construction material for many developers across the country. As a renewable material with zero waste, mass timber was the ideal choice for Brookhaven’s sustainability initiatives.
Designed by the Sizemore Group to achieve WELL and LEED certification, the building prominently features a three-story atrium with a skylight that is positioned in the center of the structure.
“The addition of mass timber to the design of the Brookhaven City Centre appeals to both form and function, supporting sustainability goals while offering biophilic benefits to those working in and utilizing the space,” Sizemore Group CEO Bill De St. Aubin said. “The selection of mass timber is fitting given the building is sitting in one of the world’s largest timber economies. As timber becomes increasingly popular in construction, we hope to build more timber buildings in the future — for the good of our environment, as well as our economy.”
The rooftop garden will cover the south end of the building juxtaposed to a dome. Exterior landscaping and hardscaping, such as the public green space, will be tailored to host outdoor community events.
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“Brookhaven City Centre is an excellent representation of mass timber’s inherent flexibility and versatility, and we’re proud to be a part of a development that is breaking new ground,” said Selina Schulten, President at Barnsley Construction Group. “Now that we’re at this exciting stage, it’s full steam ahead as we continue our work with the city and the collaborative team of partners all committed to seeing this transformative project through.”
McCarthy + Barnsley is a partnership formed in 2020 between McCarthy Building Companies and Barnsley Construction Group, a women-owned firm headquartered in Tyrone, Georgia. 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.
McCarthy has quickly expanded its footprint in the Southeast over the last nearly two decades since launching the Atlanta office in 2005. Notable projects in the firm’s Atlanta portfolio include multiple projects at Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport, the Georgia Tech Engineered Biosystems Building, the Poultry Science Complex at the University of Georgia, and an expansion of Emory University Hospital.
