Skanska Sells Share in Houston Office High-Rise

BofA Tower in Houston, Texas. Image courtesy of Skanska

Skanska has divested its 90 percent interest in the Bank of America Tower in Houston, selling it to an affiliate of Boston-based Beacon Capital Partners for SEK 3.5 billion, or $373 million. The transaction will be recorded by Skanska USA Commercial Development in the fourth quarter of 2019.  

Bank of America Tower offers about 780,000 square feet of Class A office space at 800 Capitol St. in Houston’s Central Business District. The building has ground-floor retail, parking on floors two through 11 and office space on floors 12 through 35. Tenants include Bank of America, Waste Management, Winston and Strawn, and Quantum Energy Partners. 

The property features an open-air community hub that includes a full-service restaurant and a culinary market with seven chef-driven concepts and a cocktail bar. Tenants also have access to The Assembly, a conference and private events center that features three meeting venues.

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Construction of Bank of America Tower began in the second quarter of 2017 and was completed in the second quarter of 2019. The building is certified as LEED Platinum and reportedly will use 25 percent less energy than typical facilities.

The building is currently 14.6 percent vacant, according to Yardi Matrix data. 

Greener but Struggling a Bit 

In July, Bank of America Tower reportedly was the first U.S. project to earn the LEED V4 Platinum for Core and Shell designation, currently the most stringent certification offered by the U.S. Green Building Council.

Despite Houston’s image as an oil-driven town, green seems to be big there these days. Earlier this year, Hines’ Texas Tower, a 47-story office building at 845 Texas Ave. also received the LEED V4 Platinum for Core and Shell pre-certification. That building is set to open in late 2021 and is at least 33 percent leased already.

The average Class A vacancy in Houston’s CBD is 22.1 percent, with an average asking rent of $46.04 per square foot per year, according to a third-quarter report from Colliers International. Year to date, Class A space in the CBD has seen modest net absorption, unlike the metro area overall, which has experienced net negative absorption.