Dive Brief:
- Mercer Mass Timber has completed installation of mass timber panels at the forthcoming Bentonville, Arkansas, headquarters of Walmart, the firm announced on April 2.
- General contractors Boston-based Shawmut Design and Construction and Sandy, Utah-based Layton Construction tapped Mercer Mass Timber, a subsidiary of global forest products manufacturer Mercer International, to install the specialized components, per the release.
- Mercer worked on Zone 1, which features four hybrid mass timber buildings of four floors each totaling 897,500-square-feet, and Zone 3, which contains additional offices built with full mass timber frames. That includes a single five-story building with a total area of 332,615 square feet, per the release.
Dive Insight:
The forthcoming headquarters of the country’s largest retail chain sits on approximately 350 acres, according to Walmart’s FAQ page. Plans include 12 office buildings, along with amenity buildings, parking decks and surface lots.
Mercer Conway, the manufacturer’s branch located in Conway, Arkansas, supplied a total of 21,000 cubic meters of cross laminated timber and glulam while providing jobs for 58 local employees, according to the news release.
Alongside material supply, Mercer Mass Timber, which is headquartered in Spokane Valley, Washington, provided design-assist services that included feasibility analysis, logistics and on-site installation support.
"This project showcases how mass timber can transform commercial construction," said Nick Milestone, senior vice president at Mercer Mass Timber, in the release.
Zone 1 and Zone 3 will open between late 2025 and early 2026, according to the news release.
