The Chrysler Building, one of New York’s most iconic skyscrapers, is being taken over and upgraded as demand for luxury office space in the city booms. The building, a fixture of the New York City skyline for nearly a century, had fallen into disrepair and is less than 50 per cent occupied.
Commercial real estate company Tishman Speyer and investment partners have agreed a deal with private college Cooper Union, which has always owned the land the building stands on, for $235mn as well as ground-lease payments. The low price tag for the landmark indicates the state it is in. In 2008, the government of Abu Dhabi bought a 90 per cent stake for $800mn; just over a decade later, it was sold for just $150mn.
“We are pursuing an ambitious plan for the Chrysler Building at a historically strong moment for the Manhattan office market,” Tishman Speyer chief executive Rob Speyer said. The company plans on restoring the 77-storey Midtown building, featured in films including Spider-Man and Men in Black 3. The area’s revival has been fuelled by the new JPMorgan Chase headquarters just blocks away.
Manhattan’s office leasing volume this year totals 32.9mn square feet, marking its strongest year-to-date period since 2000, when 40.1mn square feet was recorded, according to a quarterly report published by Colliers.
Source: Financial Times Companies · Summarized by HeadlinesBriefing