Oregon pins hopes on mass timber to boost housing, jobs

Inside a warehouse at the industrial Port of Portland lies what some believe could be the answer to Oregon’s housing crisis — a prototype of an affordable housing unit made from mass timber.

Once mass-produced at the factory being planned at the port, the units ranging from 426 square feet to 1,136 square feet could be deployed across the state to be assembled in urban and rural communities alike, potentially alleviating a critical housing shortage that has driven Oregon’s high rates of homelessness...