Major Montrose Project: Skanska Sets Timeline for

In Houston, Skanska appears to be moving ahead with plans to develop Starling, a 31-story apartment tower with a significant retail component on a premier parcel it purchased six years ago at the most important corner of the Montrose district.

The timeline is coming into focus one year after the company released a rendering of the proposed project at the southwest corner of Westheimer and Montrose Boulevard.

Skanska has filed a report with the Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation saying construction will start on Oct. 1, 2026.

Construction Cost: $110 Million

The Starling, which will contain a total of 617,800 SF, is slated to be finished on Feb. 28, 2029, as stated by the state document. The construction cost is projected to be $110 million.

Skanska purchased the 2.86-acre tract for the development in the summer of 2020 for $27 million.

An old 40,000-SF retail center on the site, anchored by Spec’s liquor store and a Half Price Books, was demolished. After that, Skanska’s block, bounded by Westheimer, Montrose, Lovett and Yoakum Blvd., has been used for farmer’s market vendors, food trucks and such.

The apartment tower will contain 30,000 SF of retail. Colliers retail specialists Wade Greene and Hannah Schiro have been marketing retail development.

The Page firm is handling architecture, the state report says. Construction of the core and shell is projected to cost $66.8 million and interior build-out is estimated at $44.2 million.

More Apartments in Store

Just south of the Skanska site, real estate development firm Southeastern of Augusta, Ga. is developing Artis Montrose. The seven-story apartment mid-rise is going up on two acres that formerly housed the “Disco Kroger” on Montrose Boulevard. Arch-Con is handling construction.

The Kroger developed its”Disco” nickname because late-night shoppers wearing costumes frequented the store after visiting nearby nightclubs.

Upper Kirby’s High-Rise In progress

To the west of Montrose, another long-planned development in Upper Kirby recently began construction.

Nashville-based Southern Land Co. started work on a multi-use project with a 38-story apartment tower and a 107,000-SF office building on Kirby Drive, just south of Westheimer Road.

Upon completion in 2028, the 953,000-SF development is set to include two towers rising from a shared parking podium and 15,000 SF of ground-level restaurant space.

A 10-story office tower, named 2811 Kirby, will offer four floors of office space. The Lily River Oaks apartments will contain 331 units, including 18 penthouses.

Premium Prices

The projects are breaking ground as apartment rents at upscale properties are pushing into record territory.

Monthly rents at The Langley, a 20-story high-rise at 1717 Bissonnet near Rice University, average $13,000. By comparison, the average monthly rent for all Houston-area apartments is $1,272, as stated by a Colliers multifamily study.

Penthouses at the recently completed Hanover Buffalo Bayou go for upward of $12,500, as stated by Hanover’s website.

Skanska’s Downtown Endeavors

Starling would be Skanska’s first residential project in Texas. Skanska’s Houston office developments include downtown’s Norton Rose Fulbright Tower, Bank of America Tower, West Memorial Place, and 3009 Post Oak Boulevard.

In Norton Rose Fulbright Tower, a 375,000, SF building across from Discovery Green park, is more than 70% leased two years after completion. The building is home to Houston’s Tenfold Coffee and Zaranda, a new restaurant by James Beard Award-winning chef/restaurateur Hugo Ortega.