The Minto Group has announced plans to turn the Minto Suite Hotel in Ottawa into a premium rental property.

The hotel, located at 185 Lyon St. North, currently features 255 hotel suites and 163 furnished suites. The decision to transition the property into furnished and unfurnished rental units is part of the company’s growth strategy.

“Our business has evolved beyond its roots, with Minto expanding its footprint nationally,” says CEO Michael Waters. “This requires us to focus on what we do best and that means making some tough decisions to get out of specific lines of business — ones we are very proud of — but which no longer support our overall business objectives.”

During the transition, the hotel will operate as usual and existing bookings for rooms, meetings and other contractual obligations will be honoured.

The company expects to have the first unfurnished rental suites available for occupancy in early summer 2014. The entire transition is slated to be completed by late fall.