RFR Receives $67M in Financing for Chrysler Building Deal

NEW YORK CITY—With New York’s famed Chrysler Building selling for about $150 million, Commercial Observer reported that buyer RFR Holding secured a $67 million loan from Mack Real Estate Credit Strategies. Manhattan-based RFR and Signa Holding gmbH, Austria’s largest privately owned real estate company, announced the closing of the sale on April 5. This included the Trylons pavilion, which houses the restaurant Capital Grille, enclosed in a spikey glass structure.

The buyers paid $75 million to acquire the ground lease, according to Commercial Observer.

According to the Wall Street Journal, the building was constructed in a competition to be the world’s tallest building. When first completed, it held that honor until the Empire State Building took the title the following year. The graph-like spikes architecturally designed in the building and adjacent retail plaza seem to geometrically chart its drama.

Now as part of the building’s history, the last sale signified a precipitous drop compared to the last time the building traded. In 2008, Tishman Speyer held onto a 10% interest in the property but sold a 90% share to the Abu Dhabi Investment council for $800 million.

In January when CBRE’s Darcy Stacom and Bill Shanahan put the property on the market, the WSJ had reported the ground lease held by the Cooper Union school had escalated in rent. The paper noted that the ground lease rent which was $7.75 million in 2017, rose to $32.5 million last year. In addition, the WSJ reported the 77-story tower originally constructed in 1930 was in need of renovations.

Nonetheless at the time some real estate professionals were estimating prices that were a far cry from the drop to the $150 million price tag. A Commercial Observer January 9, 2019 article title noted “Chrysler Building Hits the Market, Could Go for $500M-Plus.”

In the fall 2018, asking rent was $65 per square foot in the building. That’s when flexible workspace provider Spaces inked a deal to lease 110,989 square feet, and law firm Moses & Singer took on 73,485 square feet. Creative Arts Agency is also a high profile tenant.

The law firm McDermott Will & Emery represented the RFR and Signa joint venture in the acquisition and with the financing provided by Mack Real Estate. That team was led by Keith Pattiz and Elias Eliopoulos with Jens Ortmanns and Dustin Schwerdtfeger handling negotiations for Signa.

The drama of the Chrysler Building continues. Money saved in the acquisition price tag could go to capital improvements. Earlier this month, The New York Post reported RFR’s co-founder Aby Rosen is considering substantial renovations, including adding upscale dining options and an observation deck.