"It's quite interesting," said Mihai Marcu, AIA, president and chief executive officer of the Pittsburgh-based architectural firm. "The building itself was quite old, but designed rather well a long time ago. It's a handsome building, without a great deal of character."
The architect explained that Mellon Bank intended to vacate a substantial portion of the building to open it up to potential tenants. "The problem was that it was not inviting at all," said Marcu. "They spent a substantial amount to do an exciting lobby and front." The logic being that an attractive lobby would lure in new tenants.