Approval through a virtual meeting
In July 2020, Boston City Properties reported on a mid-May virtual BPDA meeting at which Suffolk University’s hotel-to-dormitory conversion plan was approved. The property was at 1 Court Street near City Hall, not a new private apartment development.
The university had reportedly paid $63.5 million for the property in September 2019. The account described an older building that had been used as a luxury hotel and proposed reusing it to place student housing closer to the downtown campus.
Reuse during an uncertain academic year
NBBJ was identified with the conversion design and Suffolk Construction with the work. The proposed reuse required less intervention than a new building, but the pandemic made the expected 2020–2021 academic-year opening and student occupancy uncertain.
The article also discussed financing and concern about whether domestic and international students would return as usual. Those were historical conditions, not evidence of present dormitory availability or admissions arrangements. University housing, private rentals and an offered hotel property are different uses; the approved conversion should not be presented as an apartment listing.
Historical attribution: Original Boston City Properties article, July 2020. Reported claims and attributed assessments have not been independently refreshed.