A 13-story mass-timber student housing tower is climbing into view on North High Street near The Ohio State University, putting Columbus on the short list of cities with truly eye-catching wood-structured high-rises. The project is one of several timber builds popping up around town, signaling a shift toward engineered wood as a faster, lower‑carbon alternative to steel and concrete. Developers and engineers say the method can trim construction schedules and embodied carbon, even as it introduces fresh challenges for local planners and supply chains.
Known as 9th and High, the building is slated to reach 13 stories and about 242,000 square feet at the corner of North High Street and Ninth Avenue, according to DLR Group. Harbor Bay Ventures is developing the project, with Columbus-based Elford Construction serving as general contractor. The team has been touting the tower as one of the country’s largest mass‑timber student housing developments.
Plans call for roughly 186 units and 493 beds, with a load‑bearing structure that uses cross‑laminated timber (CLT) floor panels along with glulam columns and beams supplied through SmartLam North America, according to Engineering News‑Record. Forefront Structural Engineers designed composite connectors aimed at limiting deflection and speeding up framing for the tall‑wood structure.
Why builders are betting on wood
Ohio’s adoption of the 2021 International Building Code tall‑wood provisions has cleared a regulatory path for projects like 9th and High, making taller mass‑timber construction more practical, according to WoodWorks. Designers and developers also point to quicker onsite assembly and a smaller carbon footprint as key reasons they are swapping some concrete and steel for engineered wood.
Neighborhood changes
The tower is rising on the site of the longtime Bier Stube at the corner, a teardown and temporary relocation that local outlets have followed closely, according to Columbus Underground. The bar’s owners shifted operations to a King Avenue spot while construction proceeds, a move that underscores how new timber projects are reshaping streetscapes near campus.
Industry watchers say 9th and High is part of a broader uptick in mass‑timber development in central Ohio, with Harbor Bay’s earlier INTRO Cleveland project and a growing list of Midwest prototypes cited as precedents, as reported by Columbus Business First. Supporters argue that if supply chains and permitting keep pace, mass timber could help speed delivery of student and multifamily housing while cutting embodied emissions.
What to watch next
9th and High broke ground in September, and the developer expects the building to open by summer 2027, according to Engineering News‑Record and project materials. City planners and neighborhood groups are watching how the schedule holds up, how parking is handled and whether domestic timber suppliers can keep up as more tall‑wood projects enter the pipeline.
