The Michigan Department of Natural Resources' Newberry Customer Service Center on April 16, 2025, the day of the ribbon-cutting ceremony for the structure. The building's ground breaking occurred on Oct. 10, 2023. The structure is the first facility in Michigan constructed from mass timber made from Michigan wood, in this case, red pine. (Photo courtesy of Michigan Department of Natural Resources)

MARQUETTE — A bit of history was made recently east of Marquette in the Luce County village of Newberry. In April, the people responsible for designing and constructing the building that houses the Michigan Department of Natural Resources customer service center came together to mark the facility’s grand opening.

Why so much fuss over the opening of a simple 10,000 square foot government structure? Because it is the first in the Upper Peninsula to be built using a material known as mass timber.

“It’s a beautiful building,” said Aaron Crawford, DNR administrator who works inside. “It’s doing great. We’ve had no problems.”

Mass timber is lumber constructed using layered pieces of word that are glued together under pressure. The result is a product that, depending on use and environment, can outlast steel and concrete, to say nothing of regular wood.

Common plywood is made using some of the same construction techniques. According to Michigan State University, where, along with Michigan Tech University in Houghton, research on mass timber has taken place, building with the material can reduce project construction times and costs, reduce construction crew sizes and equipment needs and create beautiful buildings that people love to work, learn and live in.

“Mass timber buildings are cropping up across North America, along with factories that manufacture these versatile, sustainable, engineered wood building materials. That’s because mass timber offers a compelling suite of benefits,” according to MSU’s College of Agriculture and Natural Resources. “Manufacturing mass timber can play an important role in achieving forest health management goals, contribute to rural economic development and provide new opportunities in the manufacturing sector.”

Plentiful red pine was the principal wood used in the Newberry structure. Some 60-plus structures are now under construction at various locations in the state of Michigan.

Crawford said there are plans to set up a kiosk outside the building to help educate the public on the structure’s unique qualities.