Copyright © 2012 Josh Audette

The Vienna International Center was built by the Austrian government for the U.N. The city supplies municipal services like power, water, sewer, etc. The U.N. pays something like a Euro per year in rent.

(this is due to antiquated laws which say that if a tenant stays in a building for more than 30 years without paying rent they can claim ownership of it)

Why did the Austrian government do all this out of its own pocket? For one, the agreement is that at least 1/3 of the employees are Austrian, so lots of jobs. For another, there are several conferences (congresses?) per day held at the VIC. All those important international visitors have to stay somewhere, eat somewhere and buy souvenirs somewhere. As do the other non-Austrian employees working there.