2345 Grand
Encyclopedia
2345 Grand is a skyscraper in Kansas City Missouri. It is listed on many sites as being the work of Mies van der Rohe, however, he died in 1969 before the 1977 opening. The work was done by Fujikawa Conterato Lohan & Associates. The International style
building is a smaller version of the IBM Plaza in Chicago
that is also attributed to Mies.
The building was originally built to be the western headquarters of now defunct Mutual Benefit Life Insurance and an IBM
office. At the time, it was called both the Mutual Benefit Building and the IBM Building.
It was acquired by the Shorenstein Company
, who sold the building for $49.5 million in 2004 to Hines Interests LP and GE Real Estate. They in turn sold the building for $75 million in December 2007 to Franklin Street Properties Corp.
The current principal tenant in the building is the law firm of Lathrop and Gage whose name is emblazoned on the top of the building. Three other law firms, Armstrong Teasdale LLP, Shank & Hamilton, P.C., and King Hershey PC, also occupy the building, and it is the headquarters of the Assurant Employee Benefits division of Assurant
.
International style (architecture)
The International style is a major architectural style that emerged in the 1920s and 1930s, the formative decades of Modern architecture. The term originated from the name of a book by Henry-Russell Hitchcock and Philip Johnson, The International Style...
building is a smaller version of the IBM Plaza in Chicago
Chicago
Chicago is the largest city in the US state of Illinois. With nearly 2.7 million residents, it is the most populous city in the Midwestern United States and the third most populous in the US, after New York City and Los Angeles...
that is also attributed to Mies.
The building was originally built to be the western headquarters of now defunct Mutual Benefit Life Insurance and an IBM
IBM
International Business Machines Corporation or IBM is an American multinational technology and consulting corporation headquartered in Armonk, New York, United States. IBM manufactures and sells computer hardware and software, and it offers infrastructure, hosting and consulting services in areas...
office. At the time, it was called both the Mutual Benefit Building and the IBM Building.
It was acquired by the Shorenstein Company
Shorenstein Company
The Shorenstein Company, LLC, is one of the United States' largest and oldest privately owned real estate firms, owning interests in, or managing, some 20 million square feet of office space...
, who sold the building for $49.5 million in 2004 to Hines Interests LP and GE Real Estate. They in turn sold the building for $75 million in December 2007 to Franklin Street Properties Corp.
The current principal tenant in the building is the law firm of Lathrop and Gage whose name is emblazoned on the top of the building. Three other law firms, Armstrong Teasdale LLP, Shank & Hamilton, P.C., and King Hershey PC, also occupy the building, and it is the headquarters of the Assurant Employee Benefits division of Assurant
Assurant
Assurant is a specialty insurance company headquartered in New York City. Assurant’s four businesses provide a wide range of insurance products and related services, including creditor-placed homeowners insurance, manufactured housing homeowners insurance, credit insurance, individual health and...
.