Hawkins Way Capital Buys Stratford Residence Hall on UWS for $80M

Beverly Hills-based real estate investment company Hawkins Way Capital has acquired a former hotel on Manhattan’s Upper West Side that is now used as student housing.

The American Musical and Dramatic Academy, better known as AMDA College of the Performing Arts, sold its Stratford Residence Hall at 117 West 70th Street for $80 million, according to a deed filing in property records made public Friday.

The 10-story property on West 70th Street between Columbus Avenue and Broadway, built in 1928, was acquired by AMDA in 1996, a deed filing from the time indicates, but the sale price was unknown.

Joshua Bird, managing director and general counsel at Hawkins Way, signed the new deal for the buyer, while David Silverman, chief financial officer at AMDA, signed for the seller, records show.

It’s unclear why AMDA is offloading its student dormitory. Spokespeople for AMDA and Hawkins Way Capital did not immediately respond to  requests for comment.

Hawkins Way, an investment firm with $3 billion in assets under management, has been striking up major student housing deals in New York City in recent years, selling the former DoubleTree by Hilton hotel at 569 Lexington Avenue to the City University of New York for $125.6 million in August 2025.

In July of last year, Hawkins Way also acquired the 492-room tower at 99 Washington Street in the Financial District, a hotel previously branded as a Holiday Inn, from Philadelphia-based GF Hotels & Resorts for $154.5 million. 

Plus, in July 2024, the firm bought a 122-unit student housing property at 300 West 20th Street from The New School for $30 million.

Mark Hallum can be reached at mhallum@commercialobserver.com.