Hawkins Way pays $80M in sale-leaseback with college for dorm in Lincoln Square

Hawkins Way Capital through the entity 117 W 70th Owner, LLC paid $80 million to American Musical and Dramatic Academy through the entity Manhattan Stratford Arms, Inc. for the dormitory, also known as a residence hall, building (H8) at 117 West 70th Street in Lincoln Square, Manhattan. The expected use is cash flowing as part of a sale-leaseback agreement.

The American Musical Dramatic Academy, also known as AMDA, executed a $23 million sale-leaseback in 2023 in Los Angeles.
The deal closed on May 7, 2026 and was recorded on June 12, 2026. The property has 75,313 square feet of built space according to a PincusCo analysis of city data. The sale price per built square foot is $1,062 per the PincusCo analysis. (The price per square foot analysis is the transaction price divided by square feet as reported in public records and assumes no air rights have been sold.)
The signatory for American Musical and Dramatic Academy was David Silverman . The signatory for Hawkins Way Capital was Joshua Bird . The contract date was May 7, 2026. Simultaneously with the purchase, the parties signed a 31-year lease commencing on May 7, 2026, in which AMDA is the tenant and Hawkins Way is the landlord.

Prior sales, articles and revenue

Prior to this transaction, PincusCo has records that the buyer Hawkins Way Capital purchased three properties in two transactions for a total of $184.5 million and sold six properties in one transaction for a total of $125.6 million over the past 24 months.
The seller American Musical and Dramatic Academy had not purchased any other properties and had not sold any properties over the same time period. The former owners according to the Department of Housing Preservation and Development includes David Silverman, head officer and Jorge Campuzano, site manager. The business entity is Manhattan Stratford Arms, Inc. The 75,313-square-foot property generated revenue of $4.1 million or $55 per square foot, according to the most recent income and expense figures.

The property

The hotel building in Lincoln Square has 75,313 square feet of built space according to a PincusCo analysis of city data. The parcel has frontage of 97 feet and is 100 feet deep with a total lot size of 9,791 square feet. The zoning is R8B which allows for up to 4 times floor area ratio (FAR) for residential. The property is in the Upper West Side / Central Park West Historic District. The city-designated market value for the property in 2022 is $12.4 million. The property has 381 rent regulated units according to city tax records from 2023.

Violations and lawsuits

There were no lawsuits or bankruptcies filed against the property for the past 24 months. In addition, according to city public data, the property has received $1,250 in ECB penalties and $2,285 in OATH penalties in the last year.

Development

There are no active new building construction projects or major alteration projects with initial costs more than $1 million on this tax lot.

The neighborhood

In Lincoln Square, The majority, or 61 percent of the 19.1 million square feet of commercial built space are elevator buildings, with specialty buildings next occupying 24 percent of the space. In sales, Lincoln Square has near average sales volume among other neighborhoods with $301.9 million in sales volume in the last two years and is the 29th highest in Manhattan. For development, Lincoln Square is the 9th most active neighborhood among other neighborhoods. It had 6.4 million square feet of commercial and multi-family construction under development in the last two years, which represents 33 percent of the neighborhood’s built space.

The block

On this tax block, PincusCo has identified the owners of four of the 20 commercial properties representing 331,359 square feet of the 433,335 square feet. The largest owner is Brodsky Organization , followed by American Musical And Dramatic Academy and then Quinlan Development Group .
There are no active new building construction projects on this tax block.

The majority, or 54 percent of the 433,335 square feet of built space are elevator buildings, with walkup buildings next occupying 28 percent of the space.

The seller

The PincusCo database currently indicates that American Musical And Dramatic Academy owned at least five commercial properties in New York City with 185,756 square feet and a PincusCo-determined asset value of $74.3 million. Within the portfolio, the bulk, or 50 percent of the 185,756 square feet of built space are hotel properties, with condo properties next occupying 41 percent of the space.

The buyer

The PincusCo database currently indicates that Hawkins Way Capital owned at least 21 commercial properties with six residential units in New York City with 1,098,421 square feet and a PincusCo-determined asset value of $1.1 billion. The portfolio has $654.5 million in debt, with top three lenders as Standard Chartered Bank , Series 2018-C6, and G4 Capital Partners respectively. Within the portfolio, the bulk, or 49 percent of the 1,098,421 square feet of built space are hotel properties, with condo properties next occupying 38 percent of the space. The bulk, or 89 percent of the built space, is in Manhattan, with Brooklyn next at 10 percent of the space.

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