The Chrysler Building, one of Manhattan's most distinctive skyscrapers, is set for a major renovation following a multi-million-dollar sale.
The skyscraper, which opened in New York nearly 100 years ago, will have its Art Deco crown polished and restored as part of a refurbishment that will also include the restoration of its 77-storey façade.
Developer Tishman Speyer has taken over the lease from the Cooper Union for the Advancement of Science and Art, a private college.
Tishman Speyer and its partners will invest $235m (£178m) in the project, which includes upgrading the 61st floor, featuring large eagle gargoyles, to include an "upscale" lounge.
The developer plans to use most of the building, located near Grand Central railway station, for office space, adopting a "prebuild approach" to allow firms to move into their new premises quickly.
Tishman Speyer noted that the area "has one of the lowest office availability rates in Manhattan", adding that "Construction of new office supply in the neighbourhood has been virtually nonexistent for decades."
The renovation will encompass internal upgrades to the building's mechanical, elevator, electrical, and air handling systems.
At 1,046ft (319m), the Chrysler Building was briefly the world's tallest building before being surpassed less than a year later by the Empire State Building.
Financed by motor magnate Walter Chrysler, the skyscraper's construction began in 1928 and was completed two years later. Architect William Van Alen modelled the eagle gargoyles on hood ornaments from the 1929 Chrysler car.
The Cooper Union college, whose alumni include inventor Thomas Edison, has owned the land since 1902. The land was bequeathed by the children of Peter Cooper, a manufacturer and industrialist who founded the college in 1859.
As part of the deal, Tishman Speyer will make ground lease payments to the Cooper Union, which the college intends to use to finance "a bold plan to restore full-tuition scholarships for all undergraduates".
Cooper Union's president Steven McLaughlin stated: "The significance of this agreement is ultimately about what it makes possible for generations of Cooper Union students."
