Aby Rosen is no longer planning a hotel for the Chrysler Building

“You work things out,” he said of the ground lease

The Chrysler Building at  405 Lexington Avenue and RFR Holding's Aby Rosen (Credit: Getty Images)
The Chrysler Building at  405 Lexington Avenue and RFR Holding's Aby Rosen (Credit: Getty Images)

As the new owner of the Chrysler Building, Aby Rosen is weighing his options — and a hotel is no longer one of them.

The RFR Holding head previously considered bringing in a hotel but has since nixed the idea, Bloomberg reported. Rosen reaffirmed his goal to bring back the Cloud Club, which operated as a speakeasy during prohibition and expand amenities available for the public — including restaurants and hair salons.

Rosen noted that the building has to maintain its cultural value, adding that the ground lease, which some predicted would be an obstacle to a sale, could be managed.

“The Chrysler Building is one of the finest and most recognizable New York City architectural assets -– I only invest in quality and take on the responsibility to rehabilitate and maintain these cultural gems,” Rosen said. “As far as the land lease, you work things out.”

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Ground leases have been thorns in RFR’s side before. In 2015, the developer defaulted on a loan for the Lever House, another landmark Manhattan skyscraper. The debt sold earlier this year for a significant loss, the report said.

Rosen and partner Sigma Holding GmbH struck a $151 million deal to acquire the historic Art Deco property from the Abu Dhabi Investment Council, which bought a 90 percent stake a decade ago from Tishman Speyer for $800 million. Rosen and his Austrian partner will need to perform hundreds of millions of dollars in upgrades to the property.

Abu Dhabi struggled with escalating ground lease payments — which rise to $41 million in 2028 — to Cooper Union, as well as increased competition and changing tenant preferences in the office market. [Bloomberg] — Meenal Vamburkar