NEW YORK (BLOOMBERG) -- A former owner of Manhattan’s Chrysler Building is one step closer to regaining control of the iconic Art Deco skyscraper.
The board of trustees for Cooper Union college, which owns the land under the tower, agreed to enter into exclusive negotiations with developer Tishman Speyer for a ground lease of more than 100 years, according to a person familiar with the matter. Any deal would require approval from the New York State Attorney General’s Office, the person said.
A spokesman for Tishman Speyer declined to comment. Represenatives for Cooper Union didn’t reply to requests for comment.
The office tower’s value had fallen in recent years as its interior aged and tenants sought out glassy skyscrapers. Tishman, which first took control of the Chrysler Building in 1998, sold a majority stake in 2008 in a deal that valued the tower at more than $800 million. By 2019, Aby Rosen’s RFR Holding and Signa Group took control in a pact that valued it at about $150 million.
Rising expenses tied to the Chrysler Building’s ground lease had been a drag on the property’s value. Mounting costs led RFR to fall behind on its obligations, leading to a loss of control of the property to Cooper Union in 2024.
Designed by William Van Alen, the 77-story Chrysler Building was completed in 1930 for Chrysler Corp. and its founder, Walter Chrysler. The 1,046-foot tower claimed the title of the world’s tallest building, though it lost that distinction less than a year later to the Empire State Building.
The tower holds about 1 million square feet of office space.
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