Hawkins Way Capital Drops $28M on 81 East Third Street Apartments, Student Housing

Beverly Hills-based real estate investment company Hawkins Way Capital has acquired a property comprising student housing and market-rate apartments at 81 East Third Street, Commercial Observer has learned. 

The $28 million acquisition in the East Village closed Wednesday, according to a source familiar with the deal. The sale comes just days after CO reported that Hawkins purchased the Upper West Side residence hall of AMDA College of the Performing Arts at 117 West 70th Street for $80 million. 

The 13-story building at 81 East Third Street, between First and Second avenues, spans 36,047 square feet and contains 45 residential units, according to Department of Finance records. Roughly two-thirds of the building is occupied by students at the New York Conservatory for Dramatic Arts, which uses the site as a dormitory. A school brochure for the property advertises suite-style dorms with a laundry room and common areas.  

The student housing portion of the building will remain intact, according to a source, but the fate of the apartments is unclear. Hawkins did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

The seller entity, 81 East 3 Street Realty, is linked to the Lokshin family, a local developer and landlord, as well as landlord Simon Fouladian. The entity redeveloped the building into student and rental housing in 2005, drawing the ire of its East Village neighbors over the building’s height. 

BKREA‘s Bob Knakal and Ana Barrie represented both sides of the sale. Spokespeople for BKREA and the sellers could not be reached for comment.

Hawkins Way, which reports $3 billion in assets under management, has undertaken a series of student housing deals over the base year. 

In August 2025, the firm sold a former DoubleTree by Hilton hotel at 569 Lexington Avenue to the City University of New York for $125.6 million. The month before that, it acquired the 492-room student housing tower at 99 Washington Street in the Financial District. The firm also owns a 122-unit student housing property at 300 West 20th Street.

Emily Davis can be reached at edavis@commercialobserver.com.