The owners of the Chrysler Building in the US metropolis of New York want to sell the architectural icon, as the „Wall Street Journal“ reports. The building is currently owned by the Mubadala investment fund from the United Arab Emirates and New York real estate company Tishman Speyer.
The skyscraper currently has offices. It is unclear whether the buyer or the buyer may change that and about the offices can convert to luxury apartments. There is also silence about an expected purchase price. According to the Wall Street Journal, estimates of the building’s current value vary widely. However, the newspaper did not name any bandwidth.
The Abu Dhabi Investment Council had acquired 90 percent of the 2008 Chrysler Building for $ 800 million from Tishman Speyer, the Wall Street Journal reported. Last year, the Abu Dhabi Fund became part of Mubadala. Tishman Speyer had estimated to pay between $ 210 and $ 250 million for the whole building in 1997, according to Bloomberg.
Difficult times for sale
Mubadala and Tishman Speyer launch the Chrysler building in times that are difficult for the real estate industry. The Hudson Yards neighborhood on the western edge of Manhattan, with 1.6 million square feet of brand new housing and offices nearing completion, is expected to continue pushing down the already-low prices for offices in older buildings.
The Chrysler Building is located on 42nd Street corner of Lexington Avenue and is a masterpiece of Art Deco. The building is also popular with tourists for its unmistakable character, but it does not have a viewing platform.
Shortly suspended thanks to top competition
The 77-story tower was built between 1928 and 1930. During construction, he competed with the Bank of Manhattan skyscraper for the tallest building in the world. Until the end, the architect William Van Alen, who became famous with the building, held back the over 50-meter-high peak in order to set it up last. The items were secretly brought into the building and put together. Not even two hours should then have the growth of the building from 282 meters to the roof at 319 meters have taken.
This made the Chrysler Building the tallest building in the world, the Bank of Manhattan Company Building, now 40 Wall Street and since 1996 also known as the Trump Building, was far off its 283-meter high.
The pleasure of the architect and owners of having broken a record with the Chrysler building did not last long. Already in 1931, the title was passed to the also located in New York Empire State Building. Currently, the Chrysler Building is considered the fifth tallest structure in New York.
Action scenes and music videos
Although built and named after him by commissioner Walter Chrysler, the company never had its headquarters there. Chrysler wanted to pass the building on to its children. The skyscraper also gained notoriety through several films, including „Men in Black 3“, „Independence Day“ and „Spider-Man“. The well-known upper façade with its eagle decoration was also used in some films for showdowns. The Chrysler Building also served as a spectacular backdrop for music videos, such as The The in their 1995 video for „I Saw the Light“.
