the Chrysler Building

Property

The land on which the Chrysler Building stands was donated to The Cooper Union for the Advancement of Science and Art,[21] a private college that offers every admitted student a full tuition scholarship, in 1902. The land was leased to the Chrysler Corporation to construct the building in 1929.[21] The land and the building continue to be owned by the college;[22] however, the lease has changed several times. In 1957, it was leased to real-estate moguls Sol Goldman and Alex DiLorenzo, and later leased to the Massachusetts Mutual Life Insurance Company. The lobby was refurbished and the facade renovated in 1978–1979.[23] The building was leased by Jack Kent Cooke, a Washington, D.C. investor, in 1979. The spire underwent a restoration that was completed in 1995. In 1998, The Cooper Union leased the building to Tishman Speyer Properties and the Travelers Insurance Group. In 2001, a 75% stake in the lease of the building was sold, for US$ 800 million, to TMW, the German arm of an Atlanta-based investment fund.[24] On June 11, 2008 it was reported that the Abu Dhabi Investment Council was in negotiations to buy TMW's 75% economic interest in the building and a share of the Trylons retail structure next door for US$ 800 million.[25] On July 9, 2008 it was announced that the transaction had been completed, and that the Abu Dhabi Investment Council was now the owner of the building.[26]