Tishman Construction Corp. of Massachusetts (TCC-MA) recently completed the renovation and restoration of the Ames Building, transforming it into the Ames, a 114-room boutique hotel incorporating high design and operated by Morgans Hotel Group. Ames is located at One Court St., off Washington Mall in the downtown Financial District, near Faneuil Hall and Quincy Market.
Constructed in 1889, the 14-story Ames Building was the city's first skyscraper. The masonry load-bearing building is the second-tallest masonry building in the country. It was designed by Shepley Rutan & Coolidge in the Richardsonian Romanesque style, so named for famed architect H.H. Richardson, who gave his buildings fanciful details and a distinctive roofline overhang. The building was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1974.
After a succession of owners, the building was purchased for $17.7 million by Normandy Real Estate Partners and Morgans Hotel Group in 2007, redesigned by the Rockwell Group in collaboration with Morgans' in-house design team, and thoroughly repaired, renovated and upgraded by construction manager, Tishman Construction.
To preserve this building and transform it into a contemporary hotel, Tishman met a series of challenges in collaboration with the architects on the project. These challenges consisted of preserving and restoring aspects of the interiors, including ornate period details, façade restoration, structural and mechanical upgrades, and meeting the client's accelerated timetable.
"Teamwork and creative collaboration were the keys to completing this fast-paced project, in which we preserved the integrity of the building while creating gracious hospitality space," said Tom Erickson, senior vice president of TCC-MA.

The $40 million renovation to the building were based on designs provided by Cambridge Seven Associates with oversight by Walsh Co. LLC.