The Chrysler Building, an iconic office building on Lexington Avenue, was purchased by Aby Rosen’s RFR in 2019. Following the acquisition, all retailers in the building’s retail space were cleared out, leaving the area feeling like a “ghost town.” The retail space, which was previously home to a barber shop, delicatessen, dry cleaner, and locksmith, was a convenient stop for commuters walking from Grand Central.
Retail revenue was not a significant part of the Chrysler Building’s rent stream, but reducing it to zero did not seem to benefit Rosen. In 2025, his company allegedly owed over $20 million in rent and lost control of the Midtown property. Tishman Speyer finalized its ground lease with The Cooper Union and laid out its strategy to revitalize the building.
Tishman Speyer’s plans include reactivating the “underground arcade” with amenities such as fitness, wellness, and meeting spaces to attract office tenants. However, there are no immediate plans to bring back retail, which is disappointing given the foot traffic in the area. Perhaps the new owner is not enamored with the idea of non-tenants going in and out of the building’s lobby to reach the arcade and Grand Central.
A spokesperson stated that “longer-term, we are open to retail uses in the arcade as a complement to the amenity program.” This leaves the door open for potential retail development in the future.
Adjustable-Rate Mortgages
Adjustable-rate mortgages (ARMs) have seen an increase in demand, rising to 11 percent of rate locks, according to the ICE Mortgage Monitor Report. This is likely due to the average 30-year mortgage rate hitting a three-year high of 7.28 percent. ARMs offer an initial lower rate, making them more attractive when rates are high.
However, the danger of ARMs lies in the potential for interest rates to soar, leaving borrowers with higher monthly payments. For example, approximately 74,000 seven-year ARMs initiated in 2020 will soon see a 36 percent increase in monthly payments, or about $1,066. This erases any initial savings from choosing an ARM over a fixed-rate mortgage.
In hindsight, it is unclear why early-pandemic borrowers opted for ARMs when 30-year fixed-rate mortgages were relatively inexpensive, with an average rate of 2.66 percent in December 2020. The Dodd-Frank Act banned the practice of offering higher commissions for certain types of loans, so it is unlikely that mortgage brokers influenced this decision.
Other News
Rat sightings on the Lower East Side have increased by 38 percent this year, according to a Department of Sanitation spokesperson. The spokesperson attributed this to issues within individual buildings rather than on the streets.
