introducing 1550 on the green

New downtown office tower will rise in bustling Discovery Green

1550 on the Green Discovery Green Skanska

The 1550 on the Green tower will anchor a new mixed-use district.

Rendering courtesy of Skanska

A new office tower will soon loom over the popular Discovery Green as the anchor of a new downtown district. Global development and construction firm, Skanksa, announced the new building at 1550 Lamar St. and its anchor tenant on January 13. The new 28-story, 375,000-square-foot Class-A office structure is dubbed 1550 on the Green, per a Skanska statement.

Global law firm Norton Rose Fulbright will relocate its Houston office in 2024 and acquire naming rights upon occupancy, according to a press release.

Bound by La Branch, Lamar, Crawford, and Dallas Streets, 1550 on The Green will feature extra-wide pedestrian zones with a canopy of trees, two tenant outdoor roof terraces, and wide views of the surrounding greenery.

International design firm BIG-Bjarke Ingels Group led the building’s design; it is the company’s first foray into Texas. BIG’s design promises sustainability, energy efficiency, and an “airy” office environment for tenants, a release describes.

Some 7,000 square feet of retail space will greet first-floor guests. Michael Hsu Office of Architecture has been tapped to design the interior amenity spaces; those include a fitness center, rooftop event space and terrace, and community spaces.

The new 1550 on the Green tower is part of a new envisioned district that will be branded as Discovery West. The district will consist of 3.5 acres of mixed-use development boasting restaurants, retail, green space, and “world-class architecture,” per a release.

Working with Central Houston, Inc., Discovery Green, Bike Houston, the Kinder Foundation, as well as several brokers, Skanska and design firm of record, BIG-Bjarke Ingels Group, completed the master plan for Discovery West in early 2020.

Skanska has been noticeably active in the Houston office market, specifically with the development of Bank of America Tower, West Memorial Place I and II, and the future Discovery West. The company is behind the acquisition of a buzzy strip center in Montrose. Skanska also plans to multifamily to its Houston portfolio, the firm notes.

“As an organization that prides itself on building what matters to our communities, our team, made up of Houstonians, has been working alongside local stakeholders to develop a plan and a building that will transform this side of downtown Houston while still meeting the needs of the city,” said Matt Damborsky, executive vice president for Skanska USA commercial development’s Houston market, in a statement.

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REAL ESTATE NEWS

More Houston homeowners are becoming 'accidental landlords,' study finds

For Lease Real Estate Sign Hangs in Front Yard of House

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An increasing number of San Antonio homeowners are bcoming "accidental landlords"

Houston homeowners unable to sell their properties are increasingly becoming “accidental landlords,” according to Zillow. The real estate marketplace’s newest analysis says that 4.2 percent of its local for-sale listings recently converted to rentals, making the Bayou City the second-worst U.S. city for the market trend.

Only Denver (4.9 percent) ranks higher, with Austin (4.1 percent) and San Antonio (3.9 percent) not far behind. Seven of the top 10 metros are in Texas or Florida.

Zillow senior economist Kara Ng says today's dynamic is driven by choice rather than panic. Homeowners aren't being forced to sell; they're simply unwilling to accept what the market will actually pay.

"As the market continues to rebalance, sellers are facing a different reality than they did a few years ago," Ng said in a statement. "Bargaining power is tilting toward buyers, and homes are taking longer to sell, making renting out a property one way to buy time rather than compete aggressively on price. After all, today's sellers are rarely forced to sell, and it appears they are often unwilling to budge off of what their heart says their home is worth."

Nationally, the trend is nearing a record high. 2.3 percent of all Zillow rental listings were recently for-sale properties, second only to November 2022, when mortgage rates had doubled in a single year, and sellers were scrambling. That spike was shock-driven, but now stubbornness is likely fueling the shift.

Single-family homes make up the largest share of accidental landlord properties, but condos are seeing the fastest rise. Metros with the hottest buyer competition, including Boston, New York City, and Providence, Rhode Island, have the lowest accidental landlord rates.

For both local buyers and sellers, Goldilocks thinking is increasingly the norm. Sellers, especially those who bought during the COVID-19 boom, are holding their asking price firm to avoid taking a loss. Buyers, for their part, are refusing to compromise on concessions and repairs.

Meanwhile, the city's rental market keeps getting larger. In 2025, rental listings website Point2Homes placed the Houston area among the top 10 U.S. metros building the most new homes for rent.

home market renting home ownership zillow rankings real estate