Ames Building Hotel

[philip]

By Jennifer Heldt Powell
Friday, June 2, 2006 - Updated: 03:50 AM EST

A posh Irish hotel chain has abruptly canceled plans to set up a 128-room boutique hotel in the historic Ames building downtown, the Herald has learned.

O?Callaghan Hotels had planned to open the four-star hotel at three-star room rates early next year. An O?Callaghan spokeswoman would only say that something better came along.

The chain plans to sell the building it bought for $20 million, said Leslie Pattison, director of sales for O?Callaghan?s Annapolis hotel. She couldn?t say whether it was already on the market or what the chain?s other options are. She was also unable to say how far O?Callaghan had gone with renovations.

The 14-story Ames, built in 1892 on Court Street, was said to be the world?s tallest building for a brief period of time and was Boston?s tallest building for nearly three decades.

O?Callaghan?s decision is so recent that its Web site still touts its plans to open the Boston hotel early next year. It was to have been its second in the United States.

The chain would have been the second from Ireland to set up in Boston. The first, Jurys, settled in the Back Bay.

?It?s a good place to do business,? said Stephen G. Johnston, Jurys Boston Hotel general manager. ?Last year was good and this year is even better,? he said.

Jurys is laying plans for another U.S. location and is scouting in Boston as well as New York and Chicago, he said.

Tourism officials said they were surprised by the decision given the ongoing demand for more rooms.

?The hotel market is very strong,? said Patrick Moscaritolo, head of the Greater Boston Convention & Visitors Bureau.

The building had been used as office space until it was bought in 1998 by the Intercontinental Real Estate Corp., which developed the Nine Zero. The company sold it to O?Callaghan after starting the process of turning it into a hotel.



The Ames would be perfect for a boutique hotel. Its a very handsome building and great location. Hopefully someone jumps on this

[Ron Newman]

Sure hope this doesn't stay abandoned and scaffolded for very long. It's a very prominent location.

[castevens]

For no obvious reason it reminds me of the haunted Omni Parker House hotel downtown

[ablarc]

Any further news on this?

[atlantaden]

LOL, ablarc, 20 something posts in a row....are you high on something? Perhaps the beautiful weather today in Boston?

[ablarc]

Time is on my side, yes it is

[kz1000ps]

There's still the sidewalk scaffolding and the like at the bottom, and I really, really wish they'd disappear so we can get that sidewalk opened abck up.

[Roxxma]

Originally Posted by kz1000ps

There's still the sidewalk scaffolding and the like at the bottom, and I really, really wish they'd disappear so we can get that sidewalk opened abck up.

They've actually been repairing the sidewalk inside the blue stockade for the past week or so.

[sidewalks]

I heard from a proverbial 'insider' that another hotel company just bought it and is already back at work. He mentioned the name 'normandie.' Take it with a grain of salt, but he is definitely someone who would know this kind of thing.

[Roxxma]

According to a deed recorded in Book/Page 41644/158 at the Suffolk Registry Deeds, the property was conveyed on April 18, 2007 from One Court St LLC to Ames Court St, LLC. The consideration was $17,750,000.00.

[chumbolly]

The buyer is a joint venture with these guys: http://www.normandyrealty.com/index_portfolio.html

They received BRA approval for the transaction at the end of March.

Anybody know what they plan to do with it?

[ablarc]

Originally Posted by chumbolly

The buyer is a joint venture with these guys: http://www.normandyrealty.com/index_portfolio.html

They received BRA approval for the transaction at the end of March.

Anybody know what they plan to do with it?

Make it bland to match their other properties?

[Waldorf]

^you beat me to it! Seriously, their properties suck a**.

[chumbolly]

To be fair, Normandy appears to be essentially a REIT, so I would not view their portfolio as being indicative of what will happen to the Ames. I presume they just buy under-utilized assets, create a lease roll or make improvements, and flip the property. In the case of the Ames, my guess is that they'll partner with a hotel developer, and who knows, it could be a great partner like Joie de Vivre Hospitality. I think it would be preferable if the Ames had been bought by an operator, such as the guy behind the Charles Hotel and the new Charles Street Jail Hotel, but I'm not giving up hope. After all, at least we know the street wall of the Ames won't change significantly--that would take too much dynamite.

[awood91]

Normandy buys One Court Street for $17.7M
Boston Business Journal - 4:05 PM EDT Monday, May 7, 2007
by Michelle Hillman

Boston's first skyscraper, known as the Ames Building, has been sold to yet another developer who says the building will be redeveloped into a boutique hotel.

Normandy Real Estate Partners purchased One Court St. from the Dublin-based O'Callaghan Hotels for $17.7 million.


New Jersey-based Normandy has partnered with Richard Kilstock of The Kilstock Organization and Eamon O'Marah, who is developing a 200-room hotel in Providence, R.I. Normandy and partners plan to complete the building's conversion into a four-star, 125-room hotel.

O'Callaghan bought the hotel from Intercontinental Real Estate Corp. in the fall of 2004 for $15.5 million. He planned to spend a total of $35 million to turn the gutted building into a 130-room hotel but never completed the redevelopment. The office building has been empty for nearly eight years.

The joint venture of Normandy, Kilstock and O'Marah recently received approval from the BRA and expects the project to be completed as soon as late next year. Normandy is considering all options as to whether to operate the hotel independently or under an established flag. The building is located on the edge of the Financial District, the Downtown Crossing shopping district and is within walking distance of Faneuil Hall Marketplace and Government Center.

The Ames Building, designed by the renowned architecture firm Shepley Rutan & Coolidge, was constructed in 1889 and is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. It was the city's first "skyscraper" and remains one of the tallest masonry buildings on the East Coast.

[vanshnookenraggen]

Better than condos.

[ablarc]

Perfect place for a hotel.

Perhaps none better.

Let's hope it injects some evening activity into a place without much nightlife.

After all, it's on the fringe of what used to be Scollay Square.

Needs a discreet "gentlemen's club," perhaps.

[statler]

Originally Posted by The Globe

Historic tower gets update
$40m renovation to turn Ames Building into boutique hotel

By Thomas C. Palmer Jr., Globe Staff | July 6, 2007

The Ames Building, a towering 14 stories at 1 Court St., reigned for more than a decade as the city's tallest skyscraper -- but that was more than a century ago.

Empty for the last eight years, a nonstarter for two would-be redevelopers, and more recently isolated by ugly concrete barriers, the exquisitely carved, historic landmark is soon to be reborn as a boutique hotel with a fine restaurant.

Designed in a combination of Byzantine and Romanesque styles by architects tutored by H.H. Richardson of Trinity Church fame, the building is undergoing $40-million-plus renovation to ready it for readmission to downtown's active urban life .

"The Ames Building is one of those structures that are flower-like, and it will be more and more appreciated as the years roll on," one writer predicted in a pamphlet in 1891, soon after "the most prominent and eligibly situated of Boston's great buildings" opened.

Its 21st-century redevelopers, who bought the property in April for $17.7 million, said they intend to make that statement true again.

Home of the Old Colony Trust Co. and its great impenetrable vaults, the Ames Building was built by Frederick L. Ames, a member of a family prominent in Massachusetts and American business and politics. It remains one of the tallest masonry buildings on the East Coast, built around a steel-beam skeleton that in its time was the latest in building technology.

"We will recognize that historic element," said Justin D. Krebs, a principal of Normandy Real Estate Partners, part of a team that bought the building. For the time being, the property is being called "Ames Hotel"; the Ames name will be retained, he said.

Cambridge Seven Architects has been laying out the plan for 125 luxury rooms -- four-star level, ranging in quality between Nine Zero Hotel on Tremont Street and the super-luxury XV Beacon Hotel -- and a first-floor martini bar and restaurant on the adjacent Washington Street Mall.

"We've had strong interest from some of the best restaurant groups out there," said Krebs. Club entrepreneur Seth Greenberg is advising the developers.

"Personally, I'd like to develop a Mistral-level restaurant," said Greenberg, referring to the elite restaurant he runs in the South End. "Something beautiful that really maintains the integrity of the architecture."

Formerly an office building, with marble floors and mahogany and leather doors, the Ames has a unique exterior, with an intricately carved and varied fa?ade of granite , sandstone , and blue slate, cornices, corbels, and carved-in-stone human heads, entrelac patterns and acanthus leaves -- all of which will be preserved.

"You can't do much -- you're not allowed to," said David T. Welsh, a Normandy founder.

Inside, though, almost everything will change. Normandy and partners are searching for a prominent Boston or New York interior design firm to make the interiors as remarkable as the respected exterior created by the original architects, Shepley, Rutan & Coolidge. They also are still deciding on a name, hotel brand -- independent or part of a chain -- and operator.

"We've had discussions with a lot of major flags," said Krebs.

Both Intercontinental Real Estate Corp. of Boston (not related to the new InterContinental Boston Hotel) and O'Callaghan Hotels of Dublin previously owned the Ames Building and took runs at bringing it back to life. But it's situated on a tight site, with no parking, little loading space, and scarcely room for much conference space.

Since then, the hotel market in Boston has improved considerably, and the new developers have come up with different uses for the lower floors that are expected to bring more revenue.

Normandy and partners said they have made the small, 7,700-square-foot plot work by being inclusive; that is, by opening it to the outside. Instead of having conference space, they are expanding the areas devoted to restaurants, which is designed to accommodate more people -- not only hotel guests but also passersby.

"We want to bring it into the street scape, into the mall and the neighborhood," said Krebs.

The first floor will house a lobby, facing the Washington Street Mall, as well as a fine-dining restaurant that will look out on the mall, State and Washington streets, and the Old State House.

Lunch and breakfast spots will be located on the second floor, accessed by a grand staircase and a restored mosaic arch.

Normandy is based in New Jersey and has more than 7 million square feet of real estate -- half of which was recently acquired and in New England. It is codeveloping Ames with British real estate developer Richard Kilstock, who redeveloped residences in London's Savoy Hotel. A third partner is Eamon O'Marah, who is working on a hotel in Providence and who won permits for the Ames previously, when he worked for Intercontinental.

The hotel is scheduled to open in fall 2008. Tishman Construction Corp. of New York is the general contractor for the renovation, with Walsh Co. LLC of Morristown, N.J., overseeing the project for its owners.

Thomas C. Palmer Jr. can be reached at tpalmer@globe.com.

Link

[chumbolly]

This is terrific news--I think the idea of focusing the lobby and public spaces onto the Washington Mall could be a big improvement for that area.

[Ron Newman]

I'm glad this project is back on track. I feel bad for the Newbury Comics store that's nearly impossible to see behind all of that scaffolding and contruction barrier. I don't know how they stay in business.