Image courtesy of Google Maps.

Suffolk University’s search for more dorm space in downtown Boston has led to the Ames Hotel property near Government Center.

Suffolk plans to buy the 1 Court St. property at a purchase price of up to $70 million, The Boston Globe reported. Suffolk spokesman Greg Gatlin confirmed the university has a purchase-and-sale agreement and said it hopes to have the building ready for occupancy as dorms in September 2020.

“We are excited about the opportunity to expand University housing for our students in the core of our downtown Boston campus, while also being responsive to the city’s goals around university-operated student housing,” Gatlin said in an email.

The current owner, Dallas-based Invesco, bought the property for $53.25 million in 2015. Originally completed in 1920, the 12-story, 74,796-square-foot hotel operates under Hilton’s Curio Collection boutique brand.

Suffolk has concentrated on the Downtown Crossing area for expansion of its residential spaces in the past decade, opening a 400-room dorm at 10 West St. in 2008 and another 200 residences in a redevelopment of the Modern Theatre property in 2010.

Approximately 25 percent of undergraduates live on campus, with 1,286 beds in its residence halls, according to a Suffolk institutional master plan update submitted last year. Suffolk has set a goal of housing 50 percent of its 5,000 undergraduates on-campus.

Suffolk also leases dorm space at 1047 Commonwealth Ave. in Allston for 350 undergraduates. The property was acquired for $75 million this year by GMH Capital Partners, but Suffolk has an option to lease the property through 2022. The university considers the Allston property to be a “short-term solution” to its dorm needs, according to the IMP. The university did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

Greater Boston hotels reported an average daily rate of $259 with revenues per available room, or RevPAR, of $225 during the month of June, according to a CBRE Hotels Trends report released Tuesday. The report surveyed 137 local hotel operators.

Downtown Boston hotels led the region with the highest room rates of $321, up 5.9 percent over June 2018.