The City of Charlotte and Charlotte Fire will host a groundbreaking ceremony to celebrate the start of construction for a two-story, three-bay, 14,000-square-foot firehouse to serve the newly developed River District community. …This structure will be the first mass timber firehouse in the Southeast, resulting in a lower carbon footprint and a warm, natural appearance. The city will pursue both International Living Future Institute’s Zero Carbon Certification and Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) Gold Certification for the facility. The project’s general contractor is Samet Corp. and the architect/designer is AWD Architects. Firehouse 44 will be a two-story, three-bay facility on the eastern side of Dixie River Road, expanding Charlotte Fire Department’s emergency response coverage in the growing community.