Downtown has been buzzing over the potential launch of Skanska's 35-story Capitol Tower, and now it appears groundbreaking is imminent. Bank of America signed a lease to occupy 210K SF, the largest Downtown lease in months.

Bank of America plans to move in the first half of 2019, giving some indication of Skanska's construction timeline. CBRE represented Skanska, the developer and owner of the project, and JLL represented Bank of America. In its relocation from Bank of America Center, the company plans to consolidate its space.

“Houston is an important growth market for Bank of America,” Bank of America Houston president Hong Ogle said. “We are pleased to be the anchor tenant at the tower, giving us the opportunity to co-locate our Merrill Lynch, U.S. Trust, Global Banking & Markets, Retail and Home Loans teams."

The 754K SF project designed by Gensler is expected to take approximately two years to build, finishing in the second quarter of 2019.

It is unclear at press time what the deal means for Bank of America Center, which will lose its anchor and namesake.