Chrysler Building to get crown restored after multi-million-dollar sale deal

Look up at the New York skyline today. The Chrysler Building, standing 1,046ft tall, is about to get a massive makeover after a multi-million-dollar sale deal. Developer Tishman Speyer has taken over the lease for the nearly 100-year-old skyscraper. Tishman Speyer and its partners will invest $235m in the project. The plan is to polish and restore the famous Art Deco crown and the 77-storey façade. Workers will also upgrade the 61st floor, home to huge eagle gargoyles, which will soon feature an upscale lounge. Architect William Van Alen originally modelled those eagle gargoyles on hood ornaments from the 1929 Chrysler car, built by motor magnate Walter Chrysler. The developer is planning to use most of the Building for office space near Grand Central railway station, using a prebuild approach that lets firms move in quickly. Tishman Speyer noted that the area has one of the lowest office availability rates in Manhattan, with almost no new office supply built in the neighbourhood for decades. The heavy construction will also fix internal work, including mechanical, elevator, electrical, and air handling systems. The land itself has been owned since 1902 by the Cooper Union, a private college whose alumni include inventor Thomas Edison. Tishman Speyer will make ground lease payments to the college, and Cooper Union president Steven McLaughlin said the funds will finance a bold plan to restore full-tuition scholarships for all undergraduates. For local business owners watching commercial real estate, massive capital pouring into landmark properties signals how landlords are racing to modernise old spaces to keep tenants happy.