Author: Eric Wilkinson, King 5 News
DARRINGTON, Wash. — New timber jobs are coming to Washington, and they’re coming to an old mill town.
Jobs of the past will soon be jobs of the future in Darrington. A new kind of engineered wood called “cross-laminated timber,” or CLT, will be used to build low-income housing to be sold around western Washington.
Right now prototypes of the homes are being built in Everett but within 18 months those jobs – all 150 of them — will move permanently to Darrington.
Forterra, a Seattle-based land conservancy non-profit has partnered with Snohomish County to bring the project to life. It’s been eight years in the making.
MORE INFORMATION
Darrington Wood Innovation Center
Cross Laminated Timber
Forterra’s Forest to Home Model
DWIC Announcement Press Release
CONTACTS
Dan Rankin
Mayor, Town of Darrington
Dan.Rankin@darringtonwa.us
360-436-1131
Heidi Taffera
Managing Director of Media Relations and Storytelling, Forterra
htaffera@forterra.org
425-269-9981
ABOUT TOWN OF DARRINGTON
Darrington, a small mountain town in the North Cascades, sits between the Sauk and the North Fork Stillaguamish rivers. Today, the town has about 1,405 residents and serves another 1,200 folks in the surrounding areas. The primary economy is still the timber industry; however, Darrington is also using its unique location near the Mt. Baker-Snoqualmie National Forest, Wild and Scenic Rivers, and Wilderness to promote recreation as a strong force in the local economy. Learn more at www.townofdarrington.com.
ABOUT FORTERRA
Forterra is an unconventional land trust that works across Washington’s communities and landscapes, from the ranches and shrub-steppe of the Yakima basin, to the estuaries, farms and forests of Washington’s coast, reaching more than 100 counties, cities, towns and rural communities. Working cooperatively with people and nature, Forterra drives land stewardship, management and planning, innovative programs and policies, farming and forestry approaches, community ownership opportunities, and development solutions. Visit www.forterra.org.
