The City University of New York has acquired dozens of additional dorm rooms for its students at a former Midtown hotel for almost $86 million, records show.
The public education system, which comprises 25 campuses, including Hunter, Brooklyn and Queens Colleges, as well as the Graduate Center, Craig Newmark Graduate School of Journalism and the School of Law, purchased four timeshare condominium units at 569 Lexington Ave. for $85.7 million, according to a deed that appeared in the city register Friday. Derek Davis, the senior vice chancellor for legal affairs and general counsel at CUNY, signed the documents on behalf of the buyer, records show.
The 17-story building, between E. 50th and E. 51st streets, was a DoubleTree by Hilton until it shuttered in 2020 amid the industry’s struggles during the pandemic. Hawkins Way Capital, a real estate firm based in Beverly Hills, purchased the former inn from RLJ Lodging Trust for $146 million in 2022 — a fraction of the roughly $332 million RLJ paid for the hotel in late 2010, Crain’s reported at the time.
It then became dormitory-style housing, operated by the student and intern housing provider Found Study, which has locations across the country, including in New York, Boston, Philadelphia, Miami and San Francisco.
Ross Walker, co-founder and managing partner of Hawkins Way Capital, which has a portfolio that includes $3 billion in assets, signed the deed on behalf of the seller, and Found Study operates a long term leasehold with the owner, records show. Neither of the firms responded to requests for comment by press time.
For CUNY, meanwhile, the new deal provides an additional 578 beds for the matriculating students living in dorms, who make up just about 1% of the entire student body, according to a spokesperson for the university system.
Rooms in the building range from 175 to 200 square feet, and cost anywhere between $3,500 per month for a deluxe single and $1,650 per month for a standard double, according to information on Found Study’s website. A kitchen, laundry room, pool table, study spaces and 24-hour security are available on-site.
