SunTrust Center

200 South Orange is a skyscraper located in the Central Business District of Orlando, Florida. Rising to 441 ft (134.4 m), it is the tallest multi-story building in Orlando and Central Florida outside of Tampa. Completed in 1988, it has 35 stories and 30 floors of usable office space. Originally named the Sun Bank Center, the name changed after SunTrust Banks began its series of mergers and acquisitions in the 1990s. It was originally built to serve as the Florida headquarters for SunTrust Banks, but as recently as 2009, SunTrust has vacated over 150,000 square feet (14,000 m²) in an effort to downsize.[2]

200 South Orange
General information
Type	Office
Location	200 South Orange Avenue Orlando, Florida United States
Coordinates	28.5398°N 81.3799°W
Completed	1988
Cost	$100 million ($216 million in 2019 dollars[1])
Owner	Piedmont Office Realty Trust
Management	Piedmont Operating Partnership
Height
Roof	441 ft (134.4 m)
Technical details
Floor count	35
Floor area	654,678 sq ft (60,822 m^2)
Lifts/elevators	31
Design and construction
Architect	Skidmore Owings and Merrill

Details

Designed in contemporary postmodern style, the building has a beige and green color scheme accented in blue hues. There are 35 stories with 30 floors of usable office space. The tower has a six-level parking garage and its lobby is an eight-story atrium. The building is topped with four green pyramids and the upper five stories is actually one large floor that provides panoramic views of Orlando and the surrounding area. However, this floor is not open to the general public.[3] A pre-existing skyscraper is integrated in the center's design. This original building, which was re-faced during the 1987-1988 construction of the main tower, was the original First National Bank at Orlando. This original building was built in 1958-1960. Later the building was renovated to suit SunTrust, the windows were changed individually instead of keeping the windows a stripe, and was the first of six branch banks of what would become Sun Bank, and then later SunTrust. The building name has changed from SunTrust Center to 200 South Orange due to the move out of the company. They are now located in The Church Street Plaza Tower built in late 2019 which has been renamed SunTrust Plaza.[4]

The evening lighting scheme provides amber illumination on the four pyramids and white illumination on the upper floors. There is a restaurant on the ground level of the building.[5] The tower is home to the consulates of Argentina[6] and the trade offices of Qingdao, China.[7]

The tower's height of 441 ft (134.4 m) is the unofficial height limit of skyscrapers constructed in downtown Orlando. Local architects speculate that the Federal Aviation Administration has imposed a height limit on buildings in Orlando, because the Orlando Executive Airport is located a few miles east of downtown and its flight path leads over the city center. As a result, 200 South Orange has remained the tallest building in Orlando since 1988.[8]

In popular culture

The building is featured in both the book and film versions of Paper Towns, a novel by John Green. In the story, protagonist Quentin Jacobsen and Margo, his love interest, ascend the tower at night to take in the view of Orlando. During the scene Margo declares the city to be a "paper town."[9]

References

1. Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis. "Consumer Price Index (estimate) 1800–". Retrieved January 1, 2020.
2. Shanklin, Mary (2010-04-25). "Looking for signs of life in downtown real estate". Orlando Sentinel. Orlando Sentinel. Retrieved 2010-05-31.
3. "SunTrust Center (Orlando)". Glass Steel and Stone. Glass Steel and Stone. 2010. Retrieved 2010-05-31.
4. | last = Bisges | first = K | title = The Sun Finally Rises: Sun Bank Launches Construction Of New Office Tower In Orlando | work = The Orlando Sentinel | publisher = The Orlando Sentinel | date = 1986-05-31 | url = http://articles.orlandosentinel.com/1986-03-31/business/0210170210_1_bank-center-duncan-sun-bank | accessdate = 2010-08-10}}
5. "SunTrust Center". Emporis.com. Emporis Corporation. 2010. Retrieved 2010-05-31.
6. "Embassies/Consulates in United States". GoAbroad.com. GoAbroad.com. 2010. Retrieved 2010-05-31.
7. "Qingdao Trade Offices". Orlando by Citysearch. Citysearch.com. 2010. Retrieved 2010-05-31.
8. Bisges, K (2010). "Overall". Fight For Air Stair Climb Orlando. FleetFeetOrlando.com. Retrieved 2011-05-23.
9. Green, John (2008). Paper Towns. New York: Penguin. p. 57. ISBN 978-0142414934.