Plans for the building were announced in July 1954, when Seagram announced it would construct a headquarters on the up-and-coming commercial strip of Park Avenue. After Lambert objected to the original design by Pereira & Luckman, Mies was selected as architect that November. Construction on the Seagram Building commenced in late 1955 and was completed in 1958, although the official certificate of occupancy was not granted until 1959. The building was purchased by the Teachers Insurance and Annuity Association of America in 1979, but remained Seagram's headquarters until 2001. The Seagram Building has been owned by Aby Rosen's RFR Holdings since 2000.