Swedish Firm to Build New Pru Skyscraper

The global construction company Skanska, which built MetLife Stadium in the Meadowlands, has been awarded the contract to erect Prudential’s new downtown skyscraper, Skanska said in a statement released this week.

The 20-story, $117 million building, to be located in an area bordered by Halsey, West Park and Broad streets, is scheduled to be completed in March 2015. The builders of the 204,000-square-foot structure aim to achieve “gold-level” certification from the US Green Building Council, which assesses projects for energy efficiency and environmental sustainability.

In addition to MetLife and the new Prudential building, Skanska USA, the firm’s New York-based American division, has also done major renovation work on the Manhattan and Brooklyn bridges, among other projects.

In August 2012, the Newark Central Planning Board unanimously approved Prudential’s application to build the office tower, which is located in a designated blighted area just north of the company’s iconic headquarters on Broad Street. An insurance and financial services firm, Prudential has had a presence in the city for more than 130 years.