New York’s iconic Chrysler Building, standing on land owned and leased by the Cooper Union for the Advancement of Science and Art, is transferring ownership to the commercial real-estate company Tishman Speyer and other investors, who are planning an extensive overhaul of the Art Deco landmark after years of neglect. The $235-million deal includes a 150-year ground lease with future rent to be paid to Cooper Union, which plans to use the funds to restore full-tuition scholarships to all undergraduates by 2028. (Students currently receive half-tuition scholarships valued at $22,275 per year, plus the prospect of extra aid based on needs and merits.)
Cooper Union, a private college founded by the industrialist Peter Cooper, has owned the land under the Chrysler Building since it was granted to the institution by Cooper’s children in 1902 as an ongoing source of financial support for the school. In a press release about the new deal, school president Steven W. McLaughlin said, “The significance of this agreement is ultimately about what it makes possible for generations of Cooper Union students. For more than a century, the Chrysler Building has helped sustain Peter Cooper’s vision of opening access to education by removing financial barriers. We have a responsibility to be caretakers of that promise, to build upon it, and to leave Cooper stronger for those who come after us. This agreement is part of an integrated financial plan that gives us the framework to confidently pursue that goal.”
The terms of the land lease were not disclosed, but Tishman Speyer chief executive Rob Speyer told the New York Times, “It’s a structure that’s going to be sustainable both for Cooper Union and for us.” (The Times also reported that in 2018, a year before the Chrysler Building’s last ownership change, “rent had skyrocketed from $7.75 million to $32.5 million”—though the Covid pandemic changed the building’s standing considerably after that.)
Of his company’s extensive makeover plans, which include upgrades to office spaces and common areas as well as a hospitality and wellness program, Speyer said, “We’re going to modernize the whole infrastructure of the building, whether it’s doing a total overhaul of the elevators, or the stainless steel at the crown of the building, polishing it so that it shines. Because this is a building that every New Yorker feels like they own. Because when you see it on the skyline, it’s your building.”
