'Citigroup Center' To Become Scintillating '601 Lexington Ave.'

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By Dana Rubinstein

December 12, 2008 | 3:03 p.m

The Citigroup Center.

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Bloomberg.

Poor Citigroup. Not only has the bank suffered the indignity of a $45 billion bailout, but now Bloomberg News is reporting that the bank's name will be stripped from the facade of the imposing building at 601 Lexington Avenue.

At some point next year, the building, owned by Mort Zuckerman's Boston Properties, will, after 30 years of being known simply as the "Citigroup Center," be rechristened simply "601 Lexington Ave." The bank, headquarted at 399 Park Avenue, occupies just three floors in the 59-story building. According to Bloomberg:

Building owner Boston Properties Inc. will rename the tower 601 Lexington Ave. next year after completing lobby and plaza renovations, said Arista Joyner, a spokeswoman for the real estate company. The move “doesn’t have anything to do with Citi’s current difficulties,” she said.

Even so, in the very same article, Boston Properties senior vice president Robert Selsam complains, “[F]rankly, we’re tired of the fact that every time Citibank has a problem all of the TV cameras come and photograph the Citigroup Center sign on the front of our building.”