Ascent MKE

{{Infobox building

| name = Ascent MKE

| status = Completed

| image = Ascent MKE completed.jpg

| image_size =

| caption = Ascent, the world's tallest mass timber hybrid building, after completion in 2022.

| location = 700 E. Kilbourn Ave.
Milwaukee, Wisconsin
{{flagcountry|USA}}

| start_date = 2020

| architect = Korb + Associates

| floor_count = 25

| website = {{URL|AscentMKE.com}}

| building_type = Residential

| roof =

| est_completion =

| opening = 2022

| developer = New Land Enterprises/ Wiechmann Enterprises

|public_transit = {{rint|bus|1}} MCTS
{{rint|tram|1}} The Hop

}}

Ascent MKE is a mass timber hybrid high-rise apartment building in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.{{Cite web|last=Daykin|first=Tom|title=Construction starts on unusual $80 million, 25-story mass timber apartment tower in downtown Milwaukee|url=https://www.jsonline.com/story/money/real-estate/commercial/2020/08/31/construction-starts-downtown-milwaukee-mass-timber-high-rise-ascent/3448985001/|access-date=2020-11-02|website=Milwaukee Journal Sentinel|language=en-US}} The 284-foot (87 meter),{{Cite web|title=Ascent - The Skyscraper Center|url=http://www.skyscrapercenter.com/building/ascent/34292|access-date=2020-11-09|website=www.skyscrapercenter.com}} 25-story high-rise is the world's tallest mass timber structure, edging out Norway's Mjøstårnet.{{Cite web|last=|first=|date=|title=284-Ft 'Ascent' Could Break Mass Timber Tower Height Record|url=https://www.enr.com/articles/49995--ft-ascent-could-break-mass-timber-tower-height-record|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200906144305/https://www.enr.com/articles/49995--ft-ascent-could-break-mass-timber-tower-height-record |archive-date=2020-09-06 |access-date=2020-11-01|website=Engineering News-Record}}{{Cite web|last=Hayda|first=Julian|title=World's Tallest Wooden Building Might Soon Join Milwaukee Skyline|url=https://www.wuwm.com/post/worlds-tallest-wooden-building-might-soon-join-milwaukee-skyline|access-date=2020-11-09|website=www.wuwm.com|language=en}} It features 259 luxury apartments, retail space, an elevated pool with operable window walls, and a sky-deck.{{Cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2019/01/01/business/timber-wood-construction-real-estate.html|title = Log Cabins? No, These Wooden Buildings Are High-Rises|newspaper = The New York Times|date = January 2019|last1 = Hughes|first1 = C. J.}}{{cite news|date=January 22, 2019|title=Rare timber frame, 21-story downtown Milwaukee apartment tower wins Plan Commission approval|newspaper=Milwaukee Journal Sentinel|url=https://www.jsonline.com/story/money/real-estate/commercial/2019/01/22/milwaukee-timber-frame-apartment-tower-wins-plan-commission-approval/2643061002/|accessdate=May 21, 2019}}

In May 2019, Ascent was named a recipient of a U.S. Department of Agriculture grant awarded through the Forest Service's Wood Innovations Grant program.{{Cite web|url=https://www.fs.fed.us/news/releases/forest-service-announces-2019-wood-innovation-grant-awards-reducing-wildfire-risk-and|title = Forest Service announces 2019 Wood Innovation Grant Awards|date = 7 May 2019}} The federal grant assisted with the testing needed to prove mass timber's ability to perform as well as traditional building materials like concrete and steel to meet U.S. building codes.{{Cite web|last=Christianson|first=Rich|date=2020-09-24|title=World's tallest wood building rising in Milwaukee|url=https://www.woodworkingnetwork.com/news/woodworking-industry-news/worlds-tallest-wood-building-rising-milwaukee|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200926083812/https://www.woodworkingnetwork.com/news/woodworking-industry-news/worlds-tallest-wood-building-rising-milwaukee |archive-date=2020-09-26 |access-date=2020-11-09|website=Woodworking Network|language=en}}

Plans for the project were unveiled in 2018.{{Cite web|title=Design revealed for mass-timber residential tower in Milwaukee|url=https://www.bdcnetwork.com/design-revealed-mass-timber-residential-tower-milwaukee|access-date=2020-11-09|website=Building Design + Construction|date=19 October 2018|language=en}} While the initial design included 21 floors,{{Cite web|title=Timber Frame, 21-Story Milwaukee Apartment Tower Wins Plan Commission Approval|url=https://www.ctbuh.org/news/timber-frame-21-story-milwaukee-apartment-tower-wins-plan-commission-approval|access-date=2020-11-09|website=www.ctbuh.org}}{{Cite web|date=2019-01-29|title=North America's tallest timber tower wins city support in Milwaukee|url=https://www.archpaper.com/2019/01/north-america-tallest-timber-tower-milwaukee-ascent/|access-date=2020-11-09|website=The Architect's Newspaper|language=en-US}} updates and subsequent approvals brought the total to 25 floors in March 2020.{{Cite web|date=2019-02-06|title=21-Story Mass Timber Building Proposed in Milwaukee|url=https://www.greenbuildingadvisor.com/article/21-story-mass-timber-building-proposed-milwaukee|access-date=2020-11-09|website=GreenBuildingAdvisor|language=en-US}}{{Cite web|last=Milwaukee|first=Urban|title=Ascent to add 2 floors; will become tallest mass timber building in the world|url=https://urbanmilwaukee.com/pressrelease/ascent-to-add-2-floors-will-become-tallest-mass-timber-building-in-the-world/|access-date=2020-11-09|website=Urban Milwaukee|language=en}}

The project has been presented at the 2018 international CTBUH conference in Dubai,{{Cite web|title=Day 2 Dubai Program {{!}} CTBUH 2018 Conference|url=http://2018.ctbuh.org/program/day-2-dubai-program/|access-date=2020-11-09|language=en-US}} the 2019 international CTBUH conference in Chicago, the 2019 International Mass Timber conference in Portland.{{Cite web|last=Sanmax|date=2020-09-03|title=US: Construction begins on 25-storey mass timber tower "Ascent"|url=https://www.panelsfurnitureasia.com/en/news-archive/us-construction-begins-on-25-storey-mass-timber-tower-ascent/3792|access-date=2020-11-09|website=www.panelsfurnitureasia.com|language=en}}

Construction on Ascent began in August 2020, and the building was completed in August 2022.