HOUSTON – Downtown’s old Houston Club Building was imploded Sunday, clearing the way for Skanska to develop the 35-story Capitol Tower in downtown
Skanska, which has several office projects under way in Houston, is developing a 750,000-SF office tower to be built at 808 Capitol Street in block bounded by Rusk, Milam and Travis streets.
In order to meet the highest standards for Green building, Skanska said it is recycling tons of steel and concrete from the Houston Club building demolition.
“Consistent with its focus on sustainability, Skanska will divert a minimum of 85 percent of the project’s demolition debris material from landfills. Capitol Tower is the first Houston development to be awarded LEED v4 Platinum precertification from the U.S. Green Building Council,” Skanska said in a recent press release.
The 18-story Houston Club building, built in the 1950s, was imploded by the D.H. Griffin firm, a demolition contractor.
Skanksa has been working toward this implosion for months, removing exterior brick and windows and performing asbestos abatement.
Skanska’ new Capitol Tower will be rising on the Houston skyline as the Houston office market is strong. Average downtown Class A rental rates went up 5 percent in the last quarter to $42.52 per square foot, Colliers International reports.
A couple of blocks from the Skanska site, Hines is constructing a 1 million square foot building at the corner to Main Street and Texas Avenue.
The Capitol Tower, designed by Gensler, will be one of the first new office towers in the nation to receive the LEED v4 Platinum certification.
LEED v4 is the latest version of the LEED green building program. Skanska’s Capitol Tower is one of only 122 beta projects worldwide using the new LEED v4 standards.
Capitol Tower’s sustainable features include:
- a high-performance building façade that significantly reduces solar gain;
- daylight harvesting technology that can significantly reduce energy usage;
- 90 percent access to daylight and views for tenants;
- a garage with occupancy lighting sensors and a green rooftop;
- alternative vehicle charging stations.