Officials for Sweden-based Skanska, whichhas also been selected to construct a $100 million project inPennsylvania as GlobeSt.com exclusively reported today, place thevalue on Heron Tower's contract at about $515 million. The revenuewill be recorded in the fourth quarter. Skanska has alreadyprovided pre-construction services for the long-awaited structureand developer Heron Corp., assisting in the design and planningprocess and helping identify appropriate materials. Seeking tospeed the process to bring the property on line by the firstquarter of 2011, the substructure and building are being developedsimultaneously using a top-down engineering method.

Designed by New York City based KPF Architects, Heron Tower hasbeen in the planning stages since 2002. The process was delayedwhen the developers sought to increase the building from 42stories, a change approved last year. The evolution is alsoincorporating the latest in sustainable design, includingphotovoltaic glass that can be cooled by recycled air. The façade'sdesign was also slightly adjusted, more for aesthetic reasons.

Heron Tower is just the latest contribution to the Londonskyline by Skanska. The firm has also had a hand in London's secondtallest building, the 594-foot 30 St. May Ave., as well as theMinistry of Defence's headquarters in Whitehall and Palestra.Existing London projects include One Kingdom St., PaddingtonCentral and Queen Anne's Gate.