Five Stories Tall and Made of Wood – The New York Times

The first project in the series, called Frame 283 and located at 283 Greene Avenue in Clinton Hill, is an industrial-style five-story building with 10 apartments, all with two bedrooms and either one or two bathrooms, and private outdoor space.

Spruce boards, which are glued at perpendicular angles to make thick beams called cross-laminated timber, are clearly visible in columns, beams, walls and ceilings. And the veins, knots and whorls in the wood wont always be concealed behind Sheetrock or paint.

But not every surface at Frame 283 is wood. Some walls are made of unfinished concrete, giving the building, which has open-air staircases, an almost work-in-progress look. Some pipes are exposed, too. Other building features include an 80-panel solar system, a shared roof deck and a bike room.

While wood can be pricier than concrete, labor costs can be much less, developers say. In fact, because Frame 283s cross-laminated timber arrived in prefabricated sections, it took only about two weeks to put up its main structure, in what might traditionally be a six-week project, said Ms. Wilson, of Frame Home, who would not divulge the development cost. The land, city records show, cost $6 million in 2015.

The building, which began marketing in the fall and expects to open this winter, is priced near the top of the market.

Rents start at more than $4,000 a month, which is high for Clinton Hill, where market-rate two-bedrooms have averaged $3,300 a month, according to the brokerage Ideal Properties Group. But two-bedrooms in next-door Fort Greene average $4,100, the brokerage said.

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Five Stories Tall and Made of Wood - The New York Times