PENDLETON — A Tri-Cities hotelier is readying development on a new Holiday Inn in Pendleton, with an exact location to be determined.

In an interview, Parn Singh said he and his family’s company, the Richland, Washington-based Eternal Hotels, first bought into Pendleton’s hotel market in 2015 and now own both the current Holiday Inn Express, 600 S.E. Nye Ave., and the Best Western Inn next door.

Singh said the Pendleton market has been good enough to his company that it’s now looking to construct a new building to house its Holiday Inn property. Construction is set to start later this year with a grand opening in 2022.

“It will be a lot more modern and stick out more in Pendleton,” he said.

Like all other Pendleton hotels, Singh said his properties took a hit during the COVID-19 pandemic. The 2020 cancelation of events, such as Round-Up and the Pendleton Whisky Music Fest, meant Singh’s hotels lost out on the kind of weeklong revenue that could equal their whole month of December.

But he added that local event organizers did a good job of holding small events when they could. Combined with the guests drawn in from the steady traffic traveling through Pendleton on Interstate 84, Eternal is ready to build a new hotel as the country begins to emerge from the pandemic.

Featuring several hotel chains, including Motel 6, Super 8, the Red Lion Hotel and the Hampton Inn, Nye’s close proximity to I-84 has made it a hub for overnight stays. Singh said Eternal has already purchased two pieces of land where the hotel could be located.

One of the locations is some bare land at the corner of Nye and Southeast Third Drive, where the city’s Bi-Mart used to be. Singh said an electrical company is currently leasing the property, but they will vacate the land before construction starts. The company is also looking at another vacant location by Super 8.

The final location under consideration is a spot somewhere in downtown Pendleton, although Singh declined to identify a specific address while the property is under negotiation.

Regardless of its place, Singh said he will begin hiring new positions as soon as the new hotel is completed. He said he’s grown close to his employees since he’s arrived in Pendleton and there’s opportunities for growth and advancement at his hotels.

Once the new Holiday Inn is complete, Singh said the building with the current Holiday Inn designation will remain but will rebrand to a Choice Hotels International affiliate. As a part of the shuffling, Eternal will also renovate all of its current hotel properties.