Shipt Tower

Original SouthTrust signage contrasting with the current Wachovia signage

The Wachovia Tower is a 454 foot tall, 34 story, 550,000 square foot office tower located at 420 20th Street North, at the southwest corner of 5th Avenue North. It serves as corporate office space serving multiple tenants including Wachovia Bank and the law firm of Burr & Forman.

Completed in 1986, the postmodern-style skyscraper was developed by Johnson-Rast & Hays. The building was designed by Skidmore, Owings & Merrill of Chicago with Giattina, Fisher & Company serving as the local associated firm and Brice Building Company serving as the general contractor. Built by SouthTrust Bank as their corporate headquarters, it was known as the SouthTrust Tower through 2005 when its name was changed to reflect the bank's purchase by Wachovia of Charlotte, North Carolina.

The grey granite skin stretches from its base to the grey-glass penthouse enclosure. Its former SouthTrust signage atop the tower was replaced with its current Wachovia signage on the weekend of October 8-9, 2005.

This has remained Birmingham's tallest building since its completion. Additionally, this is the tallest building between Atlanta and Dallas and was also the tallest building in the state of Alabama through 2006 when it was surpassed in height by the RSA Battle House Tower in Mobile.

The building was purchased for $55 million on June 30, 2004 by Atlanta-based Barry Real Estate, which then embarked on a $22 million renovation project, completed in 2006. The project included renovations to the main lobby, restrooms, air-conditioning system and elevators. As part of the sale, the Birmingham Parking Authority pledged to provide adequate parking for building tenants.

References

• "Birmingham's tallest office tower sold for $55M." (March 4, 2006) Birmingham Business Journal.
• Wachovia Tower, accessed 27 September 2006. [1]

External links

• Wachovia Tower on Emporis.com