The Chrysler Building Is Back on the Market After Court Allows Cooper Union to Boot RFR

For the first time since 2019, the Chrysler Building, one of the most iconic skyscrapers in the city skyline, could have a new owner.

The long legal battle surrounding the midtown landmark ended after Cooper Union, the elite engineering and design school that owns the land on which the building sits, evicted the most recent building owner, RFR Holding, which was in default on $21 million on its land lease. While the developer owned the actual 1-million-square-foot building, the college owns the land beneath it and charges the building owner to “rent” the land.

Now Cooper Union is looking for a new owner to take over the landmarked building at 405 Lexington Ave. between East 42nd and East 43rd streets. It could not be learned what terms Cooper Union is seeking. In theory, it could offer a totally new deal or allow a new building owner to resume the rest of RFR’s 99-year lease. RFR was slated to pay $32.5 million in rent this year, rising to $41 million by 2028.

Savills, one of the world’s largest commercial real estate brokers, has been hired to search for a new owner, which was first reported by The Promote.

David Heller, executive vice president at Savills, declined to comment on the pricing guidance but told Crain’s New York Business recently: “Given the strength of the leasing market and given where this sits in the market, we feel it’s a great opportunity to reimagine what is the crown jewel of the New York City skyline.”

In January, New York Civil Court Judge Jennifer Schecter ruled in favor of Cooper Union, confirming the termination of the leasehold agreement with RFR Holding. Back at the time of the original ruling in October 2024, Judge Schecter said of RFR’s stance, “In terms of any defenses, I haven’t heard any that have merit.”

.RFR appealed the ruling but ultimately lost that bid.

The land on which the Chrysler Building stands has belonged to Cooper Union since 1902. Over the decades, the college has leased the land to various companies through long-term land-lease agreements. Tishman Speyer and the Abu Dhabi Investment Council (ADIC) had acquired a 90 percent stake in the building for $800 million in 2008.

But by 2019, it was sold to RFR Holding and its partner Signa for the fire-sale price $150 million, a significant loss, reflecting the challenges that aging office space in Manhattan faced even before the pandemic savaged the office real estate market in 2020.

The William Van Alen-designed Art Deco masterpiece briefly held the title of tallest building in New York at 1,046 feet when it opened in 1930. With its glistening exterior, the building, commissioned by auto magnate Walter Chrysler, is still is considered one of the city’s classic skyscrapers. Uniquely, Walter Chrysler financed the project himself and registered the building in his own name, making it a private monument to both technological innovation and personal pride. In 1976, it was designated a National Historic Landmark.

The original annual ground rent that RFR was paying was only $7.75 million, but it was slated to dramatically escalate to $32.5 million this year with plans for it to rise to $41 million by 2028. The lease with RFR was originally set to run until 2147. But RFR, headed by Aby Rosen, was experiencing financial woes and stopped paying rent last year. That led Cooper Union to issue a formal notice of lease termination in September 2024. By then, RFR owed the college more than $21 million.

RFR did not return a call from Straus Media seeking comment. Despite the financial turmoil of the building’s last owner, Crain’s reports the building is 100 percent rented.