CUNY Buys More Student Housing at Former Midtown Hotel for $126M
By Isabelle Durso August 18, 2025 5:10 pm
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The City University of New York (CUNY) has picked up more student housing in Midtown East.
CUNY has acquired six condominium units, or six floors, at the former DoubleTree by Hilton hotel at 569 Lexington Avenue from Hawkins Way Capital for $125.6 million, according to city records made public Friday.
The six floors have a total of 235 hotel rooms, which CUNY will use as dorm rooms. CUNY’s interest in the building is through a leasehold condominium, the school said.
“Facilities like 569 Lexington, which opened in 2022 and is operated by Found Study, provides students with a kitchen, laundry room, study spaces, 24-hour security and access to services that they may need,” a CUNY spokesperson said in a statement to Commercial Observer. “Under the deal, CUNY will add 578 beds.”
Derek Davis, general counsel and senior vice chancellor for legal affairs at CUNY, signed the deal for the buyer, while Karan Suri and Ross Walker, co-founders at Hawkins Way, signed for the seller, which used the entity 569 Lexington Leasehold, records show.
It’s unclear who brokered the deal. A spokesperson for Hawkins Way did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
CUNY bought four other floors of the Midtown East building from Hawkins Way in April for $85.7 million, records show. Following the new part of the purchase, CUNY now owns the first through eighth floors and the 16th and 17th floors of the building.
569 Lexington was divided into three commercial condo units — hotel, garage and retail — in 2004 by then-owner Highgate Hotels, according to PincusCo.
Hawkins Way divided the hotel condo unit into 17 individual units in 2024 after acquiring the property from RLJ Lodging Trust in 2022 for $146 million.
News of the recent sale also comes after Hawkins Way bought the former 492-room migrant shelter at 99 Washington Street in the Financial District from GF Hotels & Resorts for $154.5 million in July, as CO reported.
It’s unclear what Hawkins Way’s exact plans are for that property, but housing and hospitality provider FCL Management is set to operate the building once it is repositioned and create community dining areas, workspaces and a gym.
Isabelle Durso can be reached at idurso@commercialobserver.com.
