U.S. Architectural Jewel Sold To Abu Dhabi
Chrysler Building, A Fixture Of NYC Skyline, Bought By Abu Dhabi Investment Fund
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Photo
The Chrysler Building (AP Photo/Adam Rountree)
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Fast Facts
United Arab Emirates
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The Abu Dhabi Investment Council, one of the world's largest sovereign wealth funds, closed the sale with Prudential Financial Inc. on Tuesday, Prudential spokeswoman Theresa Miller said Wednesday.
Miller wouldn't disclose the sale price, which many published reports placed at $800 million. Prudential held its stake in the building on behalf of a fund of primarily German investors that had closed in the past couple of years, she said.
A telephone message left Wednesday at the Abu Dhabi council wasn't immediately returned.
New York's Tishman Speyer Properties, which owns the remaining stake in the 77-story, Art Deco skyscraper and will continue to manage it, declined comment Wednesday.
Middle Eastern investors have jumped into the city's slow commercial real estate market twice in the past two months to buy big stakes in landmark skyscrapers. A Dubai-based private equity firm helped finance developer Boston Properties' $2.8 billion purchase in May of the General Motors Building and three other office towers.
The 1,046-foot Chrysler Building briefly became the world's tallest tower when it opened in 1930, until the Empire State Building topped it by over 300 feet when it was completed a year later.
New York City architect William Van Alen designed the brick office tower with its iconic, crescent-shaped spire for the automaker Chrysler Corp., decorating lower setbacks with sculptures modeled after Chrysler radiator caps and wheels. It is the city's third-tallest skyscraper.
Prudential, based in Newark, N.J., took on ownership of the tower when it acquired Atlanta-based TMW Real Estate Group in 2002. The company had bought its stake in the tower for about $300 million a year earlier.
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(and make no mistake that there ARE buyrs who are way richer then American)
Here''s the keys. You may have to pump the gas a few times to get it started. It uses a little oil. You''ll wanna to get the brakes checked soon too.
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Not that simple. We freeze assets of our shooting enemies. The damage could be financial, and insidious.
But also consider they payed into our economy to buy it.
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Posted by anecdote1
Actually I think Bush just used them as collateral for the loan from China, I heard last week a lot of Chinese Bank reps were taking measurements around the White house and Capital buildings for the new owners.
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Posted by newsjunky5
Well, They say you can''t fix stupid!
I''d check to make sure it didn''t have a salvage title before I''d buy any Chrysler.
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Posted by ubrew12 at 10:34 AM : Jul 10, 2008
Good One.
Posted by jjp735i at 10:48 AM
Iraq.
were up for sale.
were up for sale.
Posted by navpro at 10:55 AM : Jul 10, 2008
I would not worry about that unless and until the Republicans figure out a way to permit mining and oil drilling in our national parks - and even then, not until those resources are played out.
Maybe there still hope for us.
Over a trillion dollars a year is flowing out of this country due to our staggering trade and government debts. Middle Eastern nations and China and others buy this up and once they use the dollars to buy the oil they need, they would rather buy real assets than sit on steadily depreciating dollars. So our nation''s assets are being sold one by one, until we own nothing.
Well, if they own them they''re probably less likely to fly planes into them - unless they''re well insured of course.
Posted by UbikValis2
Only one problem, this building was PRIVATELY OWNED, they have the right to sell their building to whomever has the cash to pay the purchase price. Since no AMERICANS were willing to cough up $800 million + to bid against the Arabs, they acquired the building.
I don''t like it either but that''s real estate.
Posted by newster1
I don''''t like it either but that''''s real estate.
The problem is not the buying and selling of real estate, or Arabs owning the Chrysler building. The problem is that eventually we will no longer own our own assets. This nation has gone from the greatest creditor to the biggest debtor nation in the world. This is a symptom of the problem, not the problem.
Maybe they''ll give it to Al Queada for target practice.
Posted by
Posted by zoe2006 at 12:28 PM
Sorry. I like your target better too.
Ports, this was the next best thing! Selling the US
piece by piece.
Yep. Most of our mining claims are already foreign owned. Many of our water rights as well. This country is being sold out from under us. Will we be asked to leave one day?
BOHICA!
May be possible with the cost of gas. No one can afford to go downtown to work anymore.
Didn''t Larry Silverstein get $7billion from the insurance company for the WTC. Only cost him $15million down (on a 100 year lease) to get that $7,000million a few months later, after he specifically requested protection from terrorists flying airplanes into the building.
1600 Pennsylvania Ave.
Washington, DC
(and the people in it have been for sale for a long time now)
The world is coming to america for the great flea market.
Posted by detta269 at 04:03 PM : Jul 10, 2008
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and soon everything will be marked "made in china" oh wait...
Posted by detta269
Why does it matter who owns it? Would you be so upset if it were a Brit?
He had the power to stop it, yet did NOTHING.
Hail to the Liberals, Foresakers of America.
The Chrysler family sold it long ago.
We should hope they buy up some urban slums and fix them up too, the big city''s don''t or won''t do it so why not?