Tests on the system were conducted in mid-December and put into full view in the Tampa skyline over New Year's weekend. The new LED system replaces a series of eight-foot fluorescent tubes that were combined with theatrical gels to illuminate the building's ziggurat, with various colors manually displayed to reflect special occasions ranging from red and green for Christmas to pink for breast cancer awareness month.

The cost of the new system was not disclosed, though the company contracted for installation, Tampa-based Bay Stage Lighting, estimates that the LEDs will use only 25% of the energy needed for fluorescents. The investment is expected to pay for itself in eight years and the new lights should last more than twice as long as the old ones.

Fort Lauderdale-based Stiles Corp. partnered with Australia's Macquarie Office Trust to buy SunTrust Financial Centre in September 2007 for $117.5 million, or nearly $225 per square foot. The 527,000-square-foot structure is Downtown Tampa's fourth-largest office tower, as well as one of its youngest, having opened in 1992.