Archinect - News

The dispute over the Chrysler Building’s future just got even murkier

2024-10-23T17:33:00-04:00

Several local New York outlets have reported an update on the financial dispute between the Chrysler Building’s owner-operator RFR and The Cooper Union, which has held the land use rights to its lot since 1902.

The Austrian-based developer purchased William Van Alen’s landmarked design for $150 million in 2019 and is now being threatened with eviction by the college after reportedly not paying rent since May. RFR in turn filed a lawsuit last month, claiming "an improper and fatally defective eviction proceeding" on the part of Cooper Union.

The ground rent is now expected to increase to $41 million by 2028, adding to the challenges posed by its inability to retain tenants because of poor cell phone reception and unsanitary taps. The suit also claims Cooper Union's reaction to student-led anti-war protests this past year has led others to withdraw. The college has since called these claims "irrelevant, scandalous, and prejudicial.”

Can the Chrysler Building still endure against imposing contemporary neighbors?

2024-07-18T20:05:00-04:00

Is the Chrysler Building’s reputation enough for it to endure as an icon, or is it at risk of fading away from the skyline, as newer, taller and glitzier glass buildings surround it?

William Van Alen’s iconic masterpiece of the Art Deco style (which topped out just six days before the stock market crash of 1929) is now facing financial uncertainties after its pre-pandemic sale for just $150 million to an Austrian developer and New York-based CRE firm. The recent bankruptcy of the former company, Signa, has prompted questions about its future.

The Times reports more than half (650,000 square feet) of its rentable spaces are now vacant. The building's plight resembles slightly that of the Flatiron Building, which was finally sold to a local residential developer late last year.

New images of SOM's 175 Park show how it will overwhelm the Chrysler Building

2021-04-19T12:53:00-04:00

Although 175 Park is a handsome design that melds well with its other supertall neighbor, One Vanderbilt, it positively overwhelms the Chrysler Building, which all but disappears in the illustrations. Most existing buildings, in fact, wane in the presence of 175 Park due to its bulk.

The Chrysler Building sells for a mere $150 million

2019-03-11T17:35:00-04:00

Aby Rosen’s RFR Holding is purchasing the Chrysler Building, one of the world’s most recognizable skyscrapers [...] One source with knowledge of the talks said that sale price was higher “but not much higher” than the bids in the $100 million-range [...] The price is several notches lower than the $800 million the Abu Dhabi fund paid Tishman Speyer for a 90-percent stake in the tower in 2008.

When the Chrysler Building, arguably one of New York City's most beloved architectural landmarks, came up for sale again earlier this year, speculations emerged what the value of such an iconic, yet aging, real estate trophy would be.

The WSJ now confirmed that the 1930s Art Deco skyscraper changed hands "for a little more than $150 million"—a tremendous loss from the $800 million the tower's last owners, an Abu Dhabi sovereign wealth fund, paid for a 90-percent stake back in 2008.

Amazon likely to move into the Chrysler Building

2019-01-15T13:30:00-05:00

Amazon could be a new tenant in the Chrysler Building, already increasing its upcoming presence in New York. The tech giant, which is bringing half of its second headquarters to Long Island City, is close to signing a lease for about 10,000 square feet in the famed property, according to the New York Post. The building’s owners, Tishman Speyer and Abu Dhabi Investment Council, are putting the landmark tower at Lexington Avenue and East 42nd Street up for sale.

The intention of the Chrysler Building owners to sell the iconic property at 42nd Street and Lexington Avenue made headlines last week. Securing a commercially attractive retail tenant, such as Amazon, would certainly improve the aging skyscraper's market value.

The Chrysler Building is up for sale, but what is its real value?

2019-01-11T13:40:00-05:00

Abu Dhabi, the Persian Gulf Emirate that’s the Chrysler Building’s majority owner, is considering a sale of the 77-story tower after about a decade of ownership, people with knowledge of the matter said Wednesday. Abu Dhabi Investment Council, the government’s sovereign wealth fund, paid $800 million for a 90 percent stake in 2008.

Roughly ten years after changing ownership to an Abu Dhabi sovereign wealth fund, the iconic Chrysler Building is back on the market again. But what is a trophy worth?, asks Bloomberg.

Gorgeous automobile-inspired facade details, symbols of a bygone industrial era. Image via Wikipedia.

Strictly going by cold, hard math, the 1.2 million-square-foot Art Deco property, which for a brief moment in the 1930s was the world's tallest building, could be valued at up to $1.8 billion (and that is without the land underneath the tower which is owned by the Cooper Union school and leased for a whopping $32.5 million annually). And the sentimental value could add a special trophy premium that not all buildings in New York City get to enjoy.

The cost to maintain the aging skyscraper and to bring its amenities and infrastructure up to competitive standards that could attract technology-reliant tenants however pulls the realistic asking price further down again.

Chrysler Building sale is now complete

2008-07-09T14:01:00-04:00

New York's Chrysler Building was bought by an Abu Dhabi sovereign wealth fund, the second purchase of a Manhattan landmark by Middle East investors in as many months. NYT | previously 1 | 2

Abu Dhabi fund looking to buy Chrysler Building for $800 million

2008-06-13T15:47:00-04:00

Flush with dollars as oil prices reach record heights and remain there, Middle East economies are looking at newer ways to invest their money, and prime American real estate is their latest target.
Domain-B.com