New York's iconic Chrysler Building has been put up for sale on the market, as the the building's current occupancy rate is in the low than 80 per cent range, which falls below the city average. And this is not the only reason why the building was put on sale. 

According to an article by The New York Times, the building has been put up for sale, a minority owner of the building and a broker hired to market, the property said on Wednesday.

The 77-story stainless steel-clad skyscraper, conceived as an Art Deco masterpiece that has been defined New York's skyline for decades, was originally designed in Manhattan's midtown by architect William Van Alen and the skyscraper was completed in 1930. 

Image courtesy of Wikipedia Commons

Known as the world's tallest building after it was finished in 1930, 90 percent of the building is owned by the Abu Dhabi Investment Council, a sovereign wealth fund, with developer Tishman Speyer owning the remainder.

"It's exciting. I'm getting inquiries from all over the world," said Darcy Stacom, chairman and head of New York City Capital Markets at brokerage CBRE Group Inc, which has been charged with overseeing the sale.

The 1.26 million square foot building went a $100 million major renovation after Tishman purchased the property in 1997, which later reduced its holding. Then the Abu Dhabi Investment Council acquired its stake for $500m in 2008.

Currently, the building's occupancy rate is in the low than 80 percent range, which stays below the city average, according to CBRE. The demanded price for the building has not yet been announced by Stacom. 

Image © Jorge Rodriguez

The building is an example of the classical Art Deco style -  a streamlined modernist style that emphasized luxury - with its terraced crown. Its distinguishable ornamentation is based on features that were found on Chrysler automobiles at that time.

The Chrysler Building strongly epitomizes its time: an era of concentrated wealth, industrial power, and large-scale city building. It is often said that architecture is a measure of civilization.

The building's cost was estimated as $20,000,000 when built, the skyscraper was made with 29,961 tons of steel, about 3,826,000 bricks, and 5,000 windows.

Image © Getty Images

The building has been put up for sale for many reasons, not just because of its unsatisfactory performance, according to Patrice Derrington, director of the real estate development program at Columbia University.

"New York City constantly offers an appropriately varied array of formats for office tenants, creating a complementary ecosystem," Patrice Derrington told New York Times.

Top image courtesy of Prelude Stone

> via The New York Times