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A Sweden-based global development and construction firm's work on Houston's newest office tower, a $225 million office development expected to begin construction next week, will be a great addition to the city, the mayor said in a recent social media post.
"I was honored today to take part in the groundbreaking of '1550 on the Green' in @DowntownHouston," Houston Mayor Sylvester Turner said in a Twitter post. "This project is being constructed by @SkanskaUSA and will make a great addition not just to the Downtown District, but the entire city."
Skanska's first project in Houston, 1550 on the Green, now has a $125 million construction contract included in the U.S. order bookings for the second quarter this year, according to a press release issued by the firm the same day as the groundbreaking. An anchor tenant has already signed a 15-year lease to use about 30% of the building on the site at 1550 Lamar Street in Downtown Houston.
"1550 on the Green will be the first part of a three-block master plan by Skanska, which will transform the parcels into a distinguished district known as Discovery West and consist of 3.5 acres of mixed-use development full of restaurants, retail and lush green space," the press release said. "The project will target LEED and WiredScore Platinum certifications."
Those green goals are good for Houston, Turner said in a reply to his Twitter post.
"As chair of @ClimateMayors, seeing the business sector make decisions that are sustainable and good for the community is great news," Turner said.
Skanska announced the project this past January after acquiring the property for $55 million in October 2019. The project, a grouping of conjoined towers designed by the Copenhagen and New York-based architecture firm Bjarke Ingels Group – known in the industry as "BIG" – is on a site adjacent to Discovery Green, bounded by Dallas, Crawford, Lamar and La Branch Street on property that previously was surface parking.
The project's anchor tenant and the nations' third-largest law firm, Norton Rose Fulbright, is expected to relocate to 1550 on the Green by 2024 and will acquire naming rights when it does.
Skanska is taking a community-minded approach to the project, said Matt Damborsky, executive vice president for Skanska USA commercial development’s Houston market, in the January announcement.
"As an organization that prides itself on building what matters to our communities, our team, made up of Houstonians, has been working alongside local stakeholders to develop a plan and a building that will transform this side of Downtown Houston while still meeting the needs of the city," Damborsky said. "At 1550 on the Green, we look forward to welcoming Norton Rose Fulbright and creating a transformational development that embraces the surrounding greenery and the culture of Downtown Houston."
While 1550 on the Green is Skanska's first project in Houston, is it not the firm's first project in Texas. Skanska also partnered with BIG in work on the rodeo and entertainment complex in Austin.