The pending sale of one of Manhattan’s landmark skyscrapers includes intriguing future lodging possibilities for international visitors to New York.
Bloomberg reports that a group that agreed to pay US$151 million to purchase the Chrysler Building is considering converting some or all of the office building into a hotel.
The Art Deco skyscraper opened in 1930 and briefly held the title of world’s tallest building. It is located at the intersection of 42nd St. and Lexington Avenue in midtown Manhattan.
The buyers were RFR Holding LLC and Austrian real estate firm Signa Holding GmbH.
Experts said converting the building to a hotel would be costly and challenging, requiring an investment of US$150 to US$250 million as well as grappling with a structural layout designed for offices and a historic lobby that would not easily translate to hotel use.
“It’s a magnificent building with uninterrupted views from the high floors but changing use is not without issues,” said Lawrence Wolfe of the lodging capital markets group at Newmark Knight Frank.
The losing bidder on the property, RXR Realty, also planned to convert at least some of the Chrysler Building into a hotel.
