Rudd family sells Midtown site to Asian firm for $49M

The Rudd family, led by Rudd Realty Management owner Frederick Rudd, has sold a prospective Midtown development site to an Asian investment firm for $49 million.

The 5,025-square-foot lot, at 118 East 59th Street between Park and Lexington avenues, currently houses a four-story retail and office building.

The buyer is Euro Properties, a developer with offices in Beijing, Hong Kong, Singapore and Tokyo. Euro has developed residential projects in Hong Kong, Singapore, China and the U.S., according to its website, but does not appear to have been involved in any New York City-based properties.

William Zaccaria, an attorney who represented Euro in the deal, said the company’s plans are to tear down the existing building and construct a new mixed-use tower with high-end retail at the base. While the company has not finalized its plans, the upper floors will likely be residential condos, he said.

The site is primed to support a building of up to 79,000 square feet as of right and could be transformed into a boutique hotel or a residential mixed-use development, according to an offering memo obtained by The Real Deal.

Euro also appears to have purchased development rights and a light, air and views easement from the owner of the property next door, at 116 East 59th Street, for $6.18 million, property records show.

Neither Rudd nor Euro immediately responded to requests for comment. It was not clear if there had been any brokers involved in the deal.

The Rudd family has owned the property since 1981, public records show.

No plans for development on the site have been filed so far with the city Department of Buildings.