From hotel to dorm

The Ames Building/Hotel, in downtown Boston. It was the tallest building in Boston from its completion, in 1893, until 1915, when the Custom House Tower was built. It’s considered to be Boston's first skyscraper. In 2007, the building was converted from office space to a luxury hotel.

From The New England Council (newenglandcouncil.com)

“Suffolk University has purchased the Ames Hotel in Downtown Boston with plans to turn it into a dormitory. The Boston-based university has a history of over 100 years in the city.

The university has shared its plans to turn the 114-room hotel property into student housing. Pending city approvals, Suffolk aims to open the dormitory in the fall of 2020. There has been a push from Mayor Marty Walsh’s administration to have universities build more student housing in an effort to keep students from occupying the city’s apartments. The hotel’s prime location and need for minimal renovation and construction made it a very attractive purchase for Suffolk. The university filed formal plans earlier this month with the Boston Planning & Development Agency to convert the building into a 266 to 280 bed dormitory.

“‘This is a great opportunity for Suffolk and an important investment in our future,’ said the university’s president, Marisa Kelly. “We look forward to working closely with the city and our neighbors as we move through the community process.”’