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Townhouse Management Company’s Richard Maidman dies
Maidman dynasty long feuded with Dursts, owned 1,000-plus units
Richard Maidman, a second-generation member of the Maidman real estate dynasty, died Friday at age 83, a representative confirmed to The Real Deal.
Maidman, who had been battling esophageal cancer, was the chairman of Townhouse Management Company. In the 1960s, he took over the Midtown East-based company, which was founded by his father William in 1933. Prior to his death, Richard ran the firm with his son Mitchel, who serves as president.
The firm largely specialized in developing or buying rentals, townhouses and condominiums. As chairman, he led the development of the Aurora, a 32-story condo-and-hotel tower at 556 Third Avenue in Murray Hall, and the Chelsea, an 18-story rental building at 160 West 24th Street in Chelsea. Townhouse Management sold the latter building for $93 million in 2004. It has since sold multiple times, most recently to Greystar Real Estate Partners for $211.3 million in March.
Townhouse Management Company owns more than 1,000 rental apartments in the city, according to the firm. As of 2013, the Maidman family said Townhouse Management Company’s real estate holdings were valued at about $250 million.
Earlier this year, the family sold a 67-unit Upper East Side rental building to a French investor for $27 million. In recent years, they have opted to shift their focus from multifamily investments toward development.
Richard limited his family access to the company fortune in an effort to encourage his children to earn their way. The operating agreement at Townhouse Management only permits members of the family to use profits for educational and medical expenses. He said in 2013 the decision had caused some tension among family members.
The family is also known for its 30-year dispute with another real estate dynasty, the Dursts. The two families fought over a Maidman-owned high-rise at 113 West 42nd Street that the Dursts sought to demolish to allow for the development of the Bank of America tower. The dispute ended with Durst’s $13 million purchase of the building in 2001.