The landmark Owyhee Plaza hotel on Main and 12th streets will be remodeled this year, and its 68 hotel rooms will be turned into 36 apartments, an owner said Monday.

A new ownership group led by Old Boise 6th and Main owner and developer Clay Carley bought the property — including the hotel, office and retail space, restaurant, lounge and parking — in late November.

The Owyhee will cease operations as a hotel April 1, Carley told the Idaho Statesman. He hopes to start construction in May and to have tenants moving in to the new Owyhee Place before the end of the year.

The Plaza Grill and Gamekeeper Lounge will stay open, he said.

"I have mixed emotions" about closing the hotel, he said. He wanted to find a way to restore the 102-year-old hotel to its former glory. But the size of the hotel, with fewer than 100 rooms, was too much of a hindrance, he said.

Carley looks forward to adding more apartments to Downtown Boise. The hotel space will become mostly one-bedroom, one-bathroom apartments, he said. There will be an outdoor roof deck, a lounge area instead of the current hotel lobby, and onsite parking with priority for tenants.

Some longtime employees — housekeeping and other hotel-related workers — were notified Monday that their jobs will no longer exist, Carley said. Jobs in the kitchen, catering, maintenance and other areas not tied to just the hotel won't be affected, he said.

Audrey Dutton: 377-6448