The iconic Chrysler Building, Manhattan’s Queen of the Night, will get to wear her illuminated crown for a long time to come.
In a stunning deal, Rockefeller Center owner Tishman Speyer bought the Chrysler Building’s ground lease and will invest $235 million to restore and modernize the landmark. The agreement was under discussion for months, but never a sure thing.
Tishman Speyer will pay ground rent to the landowner, The Cooper Union for the Advancement of Science and Art, for 150 years. The deal will rescue the Art Deco masterpiece from years of neglect, an office-tenant exodus and fears that it might go dark despite its official landmark status.
While renowned for its stunningly-lit, terraced crown, Chrysler fell on hard times as a succession of ground-lease owners balked at rent escalations from $7.75 million in 2018 to $31.5 million in 2024 and rising to $41 million in 2028.
Chrysler’s most recent leaseholder, developer Aby Rosen, was evicted in 2023. Hollywood powerhouse Creative Artists Agency is the building’s largest and best-known tenant, but sources said the tower is at least 50% vacant, compared to Grand Central-area averages of below 10%.
Neither Tishman Speyer nor Cooper Union disclosed terms of their agreement. The company led by Rob Speyer is partners in the deal with global investors led by Canada’s Public Sector Pension Investment Board, or PSP.
Tishman Speyer plans to extensively restore the building’s antiquated infrastructure; create an indoor-outdoor amenities center on the 61st floor; and pre-build 75% of vacant floors as ready-to-occupy suites for smaller companies.
Landmarks Preservation Commission chair Lisa Kersavage said, “We welcome investment in the continued care and stewardship of this extraordinary skyscraper and look forward to working with the new ownership team as they plan for its future.”
CBRE global brokerage chairman Stephen Siegel, who wasn’t involved in the deal, called Tishman Speyer’s purchase “a brilliant acquisition.”
“This iconic beauty will get the TLC it deserves from them. The pre-built program is a perfect strategy as the market is full of tenants looking for quick occupancy options,” he said.
The 77-story, 1,046-foot tall Chrysler Building was built for the automaker in 1929. Briefly the world’s tallest building, its revolving-door of owners included late Washington Redskins owner Jack Kent Cooke and Tishman Speyer itself for a few years in the 1990s.
Plans to restore the fabled Cloud Club speakeasy and lounge on the 66th to 68th floors and to convert part of the building to a hotel went nowhere.
Chrysler has appeared in scores of movies including 1982’s “Q: The Winged Serpent,” in which a dragon took up residence behind a nickel gargoyle on the 59th floor.
“Tishman Speyer is demonstrating that a treasured landmark like the Chrysler Building can be redesigned for the 21st century history so its historic interior can be a match the energy and glamour of its exterior,” said Mitchell Moss, professor of urban policy and planning at New York University.
“Rob Speyer, who single-handedly restored Rockefeller Center, can demonstrate the magic he brings to making the old new again,” he added.