Qatar has signed a contract to buy the townhouse at 19 E. 64th St., a 20,500-square-foot property owned by the Wildenstein family, and plans to use the space as its New York consulate.
“This is the perfect choice for our consulate, given its location, size, layout and infrastructure,” Ahmed Yousef Al-Rumaihi, the consul general, said.
The sellers were the Wildenstein family of international art dealers, which used the buildings as its headquarters and art gallery.
The deal, if it closes in April as is reportedly expected, would be the most expensive residential transaction that New York has ever seen.
That designation is currently held by Russian billionaire Dmitry Rybolovlev, who paid Citigroup Inc. $88 million in 2011 for a 6,744-square-foot penthouse for his daughter at 15 Central Park West in Manhattan.
