Hotel to anchor new Carson development

Even as he watches his new 83-room hotel take shape in Carson City, Malkiat Dhami acknowledges that the lodging business in the state's capital presents challenges.

The Carson City Hotel LLC, of which Dhami is the principal, expects to open its Holiday Inn Express property in October.

The hotel on a 2.39-acre parcel on North Carson Street is about 35 percent complete.

Dhami is no neophyte in the hotel business.

He also has owned the Best Western Trailside Inn in Carson City for seven years and has owned other motel properties in the region.

The challenge in Carson City, he said, is simple: The market is seasonal.

From April to October, he said, hotel operators see solid occupancy rates, but business falls off dramatically during the winter.

The Holiday Inn Express his company is building will seek to offset some of the seasonal decline in tourism by making a strong bid for business travelers, Dhami said.

Despite the challenges, Dhami said he decided to take another step into the capital city's lodging business in part because he wants to keep some of his investment close to home.

The hotel is the first piece of an 18- acre development Dhami plans near the corner of North Carson and Broadleaf.

He says the property may include a mix of commercial, retail and residential uses.

Dhami noted the property is part of a fast-growing corridor that includes Sears, Winan's Furniture, The Home Center, a new Albertson's Food Center and an 85,000-square-foot retail center under construction.

The property also is near the site of the new Carson-Tahoe Hospital and will be within 1,500 feet of the off- and onramps to the U.S.

395 bypass.

Dhami's group purchased the land in December.

Business Bank of Nevada provided a $3.7 million construction loan for the project.

Jerry Gregory, senior vice president and northern Nevada regional manager for the bank, called the Carson City Hotel project "a real showcase of commercial and retail development for Carson City."