Construction has begun on Shell Plaza, an eight-story, 123,941-square-foot build-to-suit net lease property in New Orleans’ $1 billion River District mixed-use development. The building will be the regional headquarters for Shell and the first new Class A office building in the city in more than 35 years.

Cypress Equities is partnering with Lauricella Land Co. on the office building at 1600 Convention Center Blvd. It will be the first vertical development to be started in the River District, a 39-acre mixed-used neighborhood adjacent to the New Orleans Ernest M. Morial Convention Center.

Shell Plaza is expected to be completed by September 2026. The building will consist of 117,941 square feet of Class A office space fully leased by Shell on floors five to eight.

Capro Capital, a Las Vegas-based real estate private equity firm, is providing equity for the project. A $74.5 million senior loan was originated by the Tannenbaum Capital Group Real Estate platform (TCG).