[7] The ECB previously resided in the Eurotower and, as its duties increased due to countries joining the eurozone, in three further high-rise buildings nearby – the Eurotheum and Japan Center.

The ECB premises also includes the Grossmarkthalle, a former wholesale market hall built from 1926 to 1928 as part of the New Frankfurt project and the world's widest monocoque construction at the time, fully renovated for its new purpose.

[9][10] Construction was put on hold in June 2008 as the ECB was unable to find a contractor that would build the Skytower for the allocated budget of €500 million[11][12] due to the bidding taking place at the peak of the pre-late-2000s recession bubble.

It is expected that the building will become an architectural symbol for Europe and is designed to cope with double the number of staff who operate in the Eurotower.

[20][21] The seat of the European Central Bank enjoys special legal protections granted by an agreement with the German government.