One of New York's most recognizable buildings could soon be under new ownership.
The Chrysler Building is being listed for sale by its owners, an Abu Dhabi government fund and New York developer Tishman Speyer, the Wall Street Journal reports. An asking price was not reported, but Abu Dhabi Investment Council, which paid a Tishman Speyer-led group $800M for a 90% stake in the building in 2008, could struggle to break even. Tishman Speyer still manages and owns 10% of the building.
CBRE is marketing the building, which was built between 1928 and 1930, and the owners are hoping it will pique the interest of wealthy buyers from around the world.
“There might be a billionaire who comes along and says, ‘I want to tell the world I own the Chrysler Building,’” Compass Vice Chair Adelaide Polsinelli told the WSJ.
The building is hitting the market at a time when investment sales in the city have cooled somewhat. Last year, slightly more than $30B worth of investment-grade commercial real estate was sold in Manhattan, according to Colliers International. While that figure represents an increase from 2017, it is down around 50% from sales volume during the market peak of 2015 — a market some brokers have described as sobering.
Meanwhile, Chinese investors, which had been major buyers of U.S. real estate, particularly high-profile Manhattan properties, have pulled back from the American real estate market. Their continued absence is expect to push down prices in 2019.
Last year, coworking outfit Spaces signed up for 110K SF in the building, and in 2017, the owners refinanced the building for $300M with the National Bank of Abu Dhabi.
