New Brookhaven City Centre Showcases Georgia’s First Mass Timber Municipal Building

Brookhaven City Centre celebrates the grand opening of Georgia’s first mass timber municipal building, constructed McCarthy + Barnsley, A Joint Venture. Located just north of Atlanta, 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.

Spanning 58,250 square feet, approximately 60% the building is dedicated to public use, including community gathering spaces, rooftop garden, multi-purpose event hall, catering kitchen, coffee shop, rentable meeting rooms, public restrooms and an Explore Brookhaven visitor store. The remaining 40% houses administrative offices for city operations.

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 expertly 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.

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, A Joint Venture, is a partnership formed in 2020 between McCarthy Building Companies and Barnsley Construction Group, a women-owned firm headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia.