Bicsa Financial Center, Modern skyscraper in Avenida Balboa, Panama City, Panama.
The Bicsa Financial Center is a modern skyscraper with 68 floors above ground and 4 underground levels that rises 267 meters high. The structure houses numerous offices and commercial spaces spread across approximately 212,000 square meters of total floor area.
Excavation for the Ice Tower foundation began in March 2007, but the 381 m, 104-floor project was cancelled that June; the steel was encased in concrete to save the foundation. Work resumed in May 2008 as Star Bay Tower, and in May 2009 Hilton announced it would occupy 27 floors. A garage fire in October 2012 was put out after 23 hours by some 200 firefighters; Banco Internacional de Costa Rica then rented offices, giving the tower its name. It was completed and opened in 2013.
The tower's name comes from Banco Internacional de Costa Rica, which rented offices in the Star Bay Tower after a 2012 garage fire, and the building took its current name from the bank. Its gold-tinted glass, noted since the project's early days, is what residents use to pick it out on the Avenida Balboa skyline facing the Cinta Costera.
The tower stands on Avenida Balboa facing the Cinta Costera, so it is reached on foot or by car along that avenue. It is a private mixed-use building of offices and commercial space, not a public attraction; interior floors are not open to general visitors. The gold glass facade is best seen from the Cinta Costera and the Avenida Balboa sidewalk.
The exterior is clad in gold-tinted glass that creates a shimmering effect when sunlight hits it. This makes the tower easily recognizable from many vantage points across the city.
The community of curious travelers
AroundUs brings together thousands of curated places, local tips, and hidden gems, enriched daily by 93,768 contributors worldwide.
