The New School Sells Loeb Hall Residence to Hawkins Way Capital for $52M

In its third acquisition of student housing in Manhattan this summer, Hawkins Way Capital has purchased a residence hall near Union Square for $51.5 million from the New School, according to city records made public Tuesday.

Hawkins, using the entity 135 E 12th Owner, bought Loeb Hall, a 268-bed residence hall at 131-135 East 12th Street, directly from The New School, records show. Joshua Bird, managing director and general counsel at Hawkins, signed the deal for the buyer, while Loretta Ferrari, chief financial officer at the New School, signed for the seller.

“We’ve long been looking for the right opportunity in this neighborhood, and this property represents an ideal addition to our portfolio,” Ross Walker, managing partner at Hawkins, said in a statement to Commercial Observer. “Its location, existing student housing infrastructure and flexibility put us in an ideal position to deliver high-quality accommodations in one of the country’s strongest urban student housing markets.”

It’s unclear why the New School stopped using Loeb Hall as an active dormitory for its students, but the property was removed from its undergraduate housing options this year. Loeb Hall is four blocks east of the New School’s main University Center and administrative offices on Fifth Avenue, although the sprawling urban campus has numerous sites near Union Square.

The former Loeb Hall will undergo renovations and be repositioned under Hawkins’ Found Study student housing platform, according to a spokesperson for Hawkins.

It’s unclear who brokered the recent sale. A spokesperson for the New School did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

The deal is Hawkins’ third major student housing acquisition in Manhattan in recent months. 

In June, the Beverly Hills, Calif.-based firm acquired the Stratford Residence Hall at 117 West 70th Street on the Upper West Side from the American Musical and Dramatic Academy for $80 million, as CO previously reported.

Also in June, Hawkins bought a property comprising student housing for the New York Conservatory for Dramatic Arts and market-rate apartments at 81 East Third Street in the East Village for $28 million.

Before that, in July 2024, Hawkins acquired another 122-unit student housing asset from the New School in Chelsea at 300 West 20th Street for $30 million.

The deals are part of Hawkins’ broader strategy — along with joint venture partner Varde Partners — to form its Found Study portfolio comprising student housing assets across Manhattan. A spokesperson for Varde Partners did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Isabelle Durso can be reached at idurso@commercialobserver.com.