Albuquerque Plaza, also known as the WaFd Bank Building, rises 351 feet on the south side of Civic Plaza at 201 Third Street NW, the tallest building in New Mexico towering over you. This is the taller tower of a two-tower complex: 22 stories tall, it is the tallest building in New Mexico. Connected at ground level to a shorter Hyatt Regency Albuquerque hotel tower by a two-story promenade of retail, the complex offers class-A office space and a striking pair of similar-height towers.
The hotel tower rises 20 stories and is the state's second tallest building at 256 feet (78 m). Their matching color and pyramidal roofs make them the focal point of the Albuquerque skyline. The complex was designed by Hellmuth, Obata & Kassabaum and built in 1990.
It was developed by BetaWest Properties, a commercial real estate subsidiary of US West and sister company of the Mountain Bell telephone company. That company had been planning a new office tower to replace the old Mountain Bell building, originally built in 1953 as a Fedway department store notable for having New Mexico's first escalator. Those matching pyramidal roofs mark the Albuquerque skyline, with Civic Plaza spread at their feet.