This summer, a local business is helping Austin Independent School District (AISD) salvage wood materials from its Anita Ferrales Coy Facility in East Austin, which is undergoing the early stages of dismantling to prepare for a full demolition. Harvest Lumber Co., a sustainable urban sawmill, has already saved thousands of pieces of wood from the project — and Austinites will be able to purchase some for their own projects.

The 1950s facility is being demolished to make way for affordable housing for AISD staff, teachers, and families, plus to provide state-of-the-art support for the Alternative Learning Center.

The recovered wood pieces include long planks of fir and pine from the gym bleachers, plus red oak and maple from the school’s library bookshelves, which are now available at the Harvest Lumber Co. workshop. Maple wooden floors with painted basketball lines, also from the school’s gym, can be browsed by appointment.

“We’re excited to see what projects people will make with this unique reclaimed wood that carries with it some local history,” said Harvest Lumber Co. co-founder Kris Burns, in correspondence with CultureMap.

But it’s not just about the romantic side of giving old wood another chance; this also provides the Austin community with more sustainable options. Opting for locally sourced, repurposed wood has little to no impact on natural resources because it’s a material that already exists. Burns, who also has a background in environmental science, also explains burning or rotting wood waste contributes to greenhouse gas emissions.

AISD sustainability director Darien Clary agrees and points out that the positive impact is far greater than one might think. Saving wood from demolition sites like the Anita Ferrales Coy Facility decreases the demand for new lumber, which can help reduce deforestation. There’s also a lower carbon footprint in preparing the wood, since processing local reclaimed wood requires fewer resources.

The partnership was an ideal fit for the AISD, which requires all major construction projects to keep 75 percent of non-hazardous materials out of landfills and incinerators.

  Red maple recovered from shelving at the Anita Ferrales Coy Facility.Photo courtesy of Harvest Lumber Co.

“We really try to reuse as much as we can for a lot of reasons, but these were materials that would have to be removed — taken out of the building. And we started wondering if there was somebody in the community who could partner with us and help give a new life to this material,” says Clary over the phone. “It's a really nice way to support our local businesses and also have a positive impact on the local community.”

Clary hopes this partnership can serve as a model or inspiration not only for future AISD facilities, but also for others in the community.

“Facility deconstruction and salvage can present building owners with costly logistical challenges,” Clary says. “We are hoping that this pilot can inform projects for moving forward.”

Harvest Lumber Co. was born in 2017 out of curiosity and a desire to rescue trees and logs from being burned or thrown in the wood chipper. Founders Kris Burns and Andrew Danziger, who are both professional woodworkers, saw that local wood was a valuable resource that wasn’t being used to its highest potential.

  Co-founder of Harvest Lumber Co., Kris Burns.Photo courtesy of Harvest Lumber Co.

The company focuses on rescuing urban wood from trees that have been cut down around Austin due to weather or development projects, and also recovering wood materials from buildings facing demolition or remodeling. At their sawmill, the wood gets repurposed into lumber to be sold for any sort of project or to become custom-built furniture.

Unsuspecting Austinites may have already admired some of Harvest Lumber Co.’s woodwork throughout the city. Italian restaurant L’oca d’Oro has a chef’s counter made of pecan that was recovered, milled, and custom-built by Harvest Lumber Co. On the Lady Bird Lake boardwalk, there are 20 benches made out of post oak and live oak, recovered and milled by the company. Even the exterior cladding of Malin, the troll statue at Pease Park, is made out of custom-milled Douglas fir recovered from the J.J. Pickle Research Campus.

  Malin, the Pease Park Troll by Thomas Dambo.Photo courtesy of Harvest Lumber Co.

“We hope to inspire consumers and designers to think local for wood projects ranging from furniture to art, either DIY or custom-made by us," says Burns. “Everyone who visits our showroom is amazed by all of the beautiful slabs and lumber we have, and are even more blown away when they’re told it’s all sourced from Austin.”

Harvest Lumber Co. is located at 641 Tillery St., Ste. 130. The showroom is open Tuesdays through Fridays from 10 am to 4 pm, and Saturdays from 10 am to 2 pm. Select lumber and finished products can be viewed on harvestlumberco.com, but for full inventory, customers should visit during business hours, email, or call by phone. For portfolio examples, folks can visit harvestlumberco.com or @HarvestLumberCo on Instagram.