HOUSTON – Construction has begun on at 30-story office tower in The Galleria area of Houston. The 600,000 square-foot building is fully leased by BHP Billiton, a mining and petroleum company based in Melbourne, Australia. The new building, called BHP Billiton Tower, will be located on Post Oak Boulevard, just north of San Felipe, in the Four Oaks Place development. A 24-Hour Fitness center that used to be there was demolished.
The new tower is being developed by Transwestern, a major Houston real estate development and leasing firm, and the TIAA-CREF financial services company. The new building is expected be completed in 2016.
The skyline of the Galleria area had been mostly unchanged by new office buildings for the last three decades or so, since the 64-story Williams Tower was completed in 1983. The BBVA Compass Tower and a 20-story Skanska building were built and completed this year.
The next new building, BHP Billiton Tower, will be located on Post Oak Boulevard, just north of San Felipe, in the Four Oaks Place development. A 24-Hour Fitness center that used to be there was demolished. The design architect is Pickard Chilton Associates of New Haven, Conn., and the architect of record is Kendall Heaton Associates of Houston.
BHP Billiton already occupies all of an adjacent building at1 360 Post Oak Boulevard. The new BHP Billiton Tower and the 1360 Post Oak Boulevard tower will be connected by a glass skybridge.