2024-12-22T03:02:16-05:00 https://archinect.com/news/article/150451564/the-dispute-over-the-chrysler-building-s-future-just-got-even-murkier Josh Niland 2024-10-23T17:33:00-04:00 >2024-10-24T14:27:51-04:00 <img src="https://archinect.gumlet.io/uploads/96/96887efc66094a6ede1a10ed3e371023.jpg?fit=crop&auto=compress%2Cformat&enlarge=true&w=1200" border="0" /><p>Several local New York outlets have <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2024/10/23/realestate/chrysler-building-lawsuits-cooper-union.html" target="_blank">reported</a> an update on the financial dispute between the <a href="https://archinect.com/news/tag/1251970/chrysler-building" target="_blank">Chrysler Building</a>&rsquo;s owner-operator RFR and <a href="https://archinect.com/schools/cover/697/the-cooper-union" target="_blank">The Cooper Union</a>, which has held the land use rights to its lot since 1902.</p> <p>The Austrian-based developer purchased William Van Alen&rsquo;s landmarked design <a href="https://archinect.com/news/article/150125946/the-chrysler-building-sells-for-a-mere-150-million" target="_blank">for $150 million in 2019</a> 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&nbsp;improper and fatally defective eviction proceeding" on the part of Cooper Union.&nbsp;</p> <p>The ground rent is now expected to increase to $41 million by 2028, adding to the challenges posed by its <a href="https://archinect.com/news/article/150437751/can-the-chrysler-building-still-endure-against-imposing-contemporary-neighbors" target="_blank">inability to retain tenants</a>&nbsp;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&nbsp;"irrelevant, scandalous, and prejudicial.&rdquo;</p>