Architect and developer John C. Portman, Jr. originally conceived this building in the 1980s commercial real-estate frenzy as a speculative office building. Its basic design elements, a postmodernsquare tower with an elaborate base and crown, represented a departure for Portman from his earlier International-style work, and are said to have been inspired by Philip Johnson's wildly successful design for midtown Atlanta's One Atlantic Center. Ground broke in 1989 with great fanfare, but by completion in 1992, the bottom had fallen out of Atlanta's real estate market and the building sat largely empty, nearly forcing Portman into bankruptcy and causing him to lose control of most of his real estate holdings. His architectural firm, John Portman & Associates, located their headquarters in the building. In the mid-1990s, Portman sold half his interest in the building to SunTrust Bank, which then moved its headquarters to the building, prompting a name change from One Peachtree Center to its current name. The two-level lobby is filled with many works of art, sculpture and furniture designed by John Portman.
The building was one of several struck by the mid-March 2008 Atlanta tornado, however it did not sustain damage as severe as most of the other buildings just south of it. Several offices had to be temporarily relocated within the building due to broken windows. LPTVstationWDTA-LD relocated to the top of the building, from the even-taller Bank of America Plaza. Despite long being Atlanta's second-tallest skyscraper, this is its first broadcastantenna. The building has been since its construction the home of John Portman & Associates Architects. Atlanta's SunTrust Plaza building is home to a peregrine falcons' nest in planters on a balcony more than 50 stories above ground. High above any natural predators, the planters offer soft substrate and afford some protection from harsh weather. Peregrine falcons have been nesting at SunTrust Plaza since 1997. This Georgia Department of Natural Resources' Wildlife Resources Division web-camera offers viewers a unique look at the peregrines nesting activities in real-time.
