Back Bay’s Ames-Webster mansion to be reborn as three condos

The Saudi sheikh who bought the historic Ames-Webster mansion at 306 Dartmouth Street in Back Bay in 2013 for $14.5 million is converting it into three condos, including a triplex penthouse, that will start at $20 million each.

That places them on course to become some of the most expensive homes ever sold in Boston. Campion & Co. is marketing the condos, and Kahlil Hamady is the architect handling the mansion’s conversion.

That conversion is all about renovation. The 26,000-square-foot Ames-Webster—which had 50 rooms and 28 fireplaces when it sold—dates from the late 19th century and was once a grand single-family manse. It was so grand, in fact, that it was once this close to becoming Massachusetts’ governor’s mansion.

Instead, in 1971, a group of owners converted it to offices; and offices it remained into the 21st century, growing a bit shabby in places and in need of restoration to its former glory should it join the ranks of Boston’s luxury homes (again).

The ongoing restoration includes dusting off historic details such as the mosaic tiles in the entryway and the chandeliers. The atrium’s stained-glass skylight is coming in for particular care, according to the Wall Street Journal’s Katherine Clarke.

The condo conversion is supposed to wrap in 2019. Stay tuned.

• A Saudi Sheikh Brings Boston’s Ames Webster Mansion Back to Life [WSJ]
• This was almost the Massachusetts governor’s mansion [Curbed Boston]