Rudin buys development rights from FiDi hotel

Rudin Management, which was reportedly eyeing a residential conversion for its Superstorm Sandy-damaged office building at 110 Wall Street, purchased nearly 36,000 square feet of development rights from a neighboring FiDi hotel earlier this month.

William Rudin’s firm paid $7.76 million – or about $217 per square foot – to acquire 35,815 square feet of development rights from the Eurostar Hotel at 129 Front Street, property records show.

Niether Rudin management nor Eurostar’s parent company, the Barcelona-based hospitality giant Hotusa Group, could be immediately reached for comment.

After the deal was done, the eight-story, 53-room hotel retained 300 feet of air rights. Meanwhile, Rudin brought the total developable area of 110 Wall Street to 290,025 square feet, according to an architectural certification by the firm FXFOWLE.

As part of the deal, Eurostar agreed not to use any part of the hotel property for residential use for a period of 84 months following the agreement.

Rudin’s building was heavily damaged by Superstorm Sandy, forcing the company to cancel leases and vacate the building. Rudin had reportedly been considering a residential conversion. As recently as November it had been reported Rudin was in negotiations with the collaborative workspace sharing company WeWork about leasing the entire building and converting a portion into microapartments and communal living space.