The Ramada Plaza Suites and Conference Center, a former Downtown apartment building converted into a hotel, is getting a new name and a $12 million face-lift.

The Elmhurst Group, the building's owner, yesterday said the Ramada would become a Doubletree Hotel next summer after all 316 rooms are renovated to offer guests more upscale accommodations.

The project is designed to make the hotel, off Grant Street near Mellon Arena and the US Steel Tower, more competitive with the Omni William Penn, the Hilton Pittsburgh and the Westin Convention Center, all Downtown.

All rooms will receive new carpeting, paint, wall dressings, and 25-inch televisions. The entire hotel will be equipped for wireless Internet access; 20 percent of the rooms also will have wired access. Each room also will have its own thermostat to control the temperature.

Elmhurst, which is switching franchises from Ramada to Doubletree, also will renovate an outdoor cafe area, replace the Ruddy Duck with another restaurant with more of a "Pittsburgh flavor" in terms of look and menu, and refurbish the main lobby and hotel entrance.

Because the Doubletree is part of the Hilton Hotel Corp., the switch will give Hilton nearly 1,000 Downtown rooms to package for groups and organizations considering Pittsburgh for a convention, said Robert Imperata, executive vice president of the Greater Pittsburgh Convention & Visitors Bureau. "By improving the product, it's going to help us when we bring clients in," he said.

Elmhurst, which will put up the entire $12 million for the project, hopes to begin construction this month. The hotel will remain open during renovations, which are slated to be completed in June. The franchise change won't take place until the refurbishing is completed.

Before the Ramada opened in 1988, the 19-story building housed the Bigelow Apartments.