New Skyscraper for $373 Million: Skanska Selling 90 Percent Stake

Rendering of Skanska’s Bank of America Tower, designed by Gensler.

In Houston, An affiliate of Beacon Capital Partners is acquiring a 90 percent stake in the 35-story Bank of America Tower for $373 million, as stated by a news release from Skanska, the developer of the new downtown Houston building.

The 780,000-SF building, which was completed in the summer of 2019, is located at 800 Capitol Street on a block bordered by Travis, Milam and Rusk streets.

The building is about 90 percent leased. The foundation for the new building was poured on August 22 and 23 of 2015.

Skanska said it expects the sale to close before the end of the year. Last month, it was reported in business publications that the buyer was CalSTERS (California State Teachers) with Beacon Capital Partners as its advisor and at much larger price.

The building, which is about 90 percent leased, has the following tenants:

• Skanska (12,481 SF, floor 12)

• Bank of America (210,000 SF, floors 14-20)

• Winston and Strawn (62,515 SF, floors 23-24)

• Waste Management (284,000 SF, floors 25-33)

• Quantum Energy Partners (32,000 SF, floors 35-36)

The Bank of America Tower was developed over a long period of time. In 2011, Skanska purchased the old 18-story Houston Club building, 811 Rusk. The Houston Club building was destroyed, giving Skanska a clean full-block canvas to create this new tower.

The foundation for the new building was poured by a massive fleet of concrete trucks on August 22 and 23 of 2015. But crude oil was in the midst of a steep drop at that time. West Texas Intermediate crude, which was over $100 a barrel in 2014 slid in a free fall that would not stop until it dipped below $27 a barrel in early 2016. Vertical construction began in 2017.