Take a good look up-Bank of America Plaza really does mean business. Built in 2003, this glassy giant climbs 29 stories and cost nearly 387 million dollars to put up-which, adjusted for today, would make even the deepest Wall Street pockets wince. Originally, it was custom-designed for LaSalle Bank, under the watchful eye of its Dutch parent company, ABN AMRO. You can almost picture the excitement as workers from FIVE different buildings finally got to crowd the elevators together..., for better or worse.
Now, the lobby doubles as the unofficial coffee HQ, thanks to the Starbucks below. They even squeezed in a bar called Slightly Toasted-because nothing says “long day of finance” like a lunch beer with your spreadsheets.
In 2008, it changed hands during a banking mega-merger, and the coveted shield logo came off the top. Then in 2012, some New York investors snapped it up for 350 million bucks-making this one of Chicago’s top office deals that year.
Alright, when you’re ready for something a little more abstract, just head north for 2 minutes and we’ll check out Batcolumn.
