Dec. 2--LOMA LINDA -- Visitors won't have to look outside the city to find major hotel accommodations much longer.

The city is moving forward with plans for a 111-room Holiday Inn on Redlands Boulevard east of Anderson Street.

The Planning Commission is expected to consider the project at 7 p.m. Wednesday. If it gets the green light, the proposal likely would be heard by the City Council on Jan. 13.

An antique mall, a Japanese sword shop and a single-family home on the 2.4-acre site would be torn down to make way for the four-story hotel.

Mike Christianson, who owns the property where the hotel is proposed, said the project would be a huge economic boost to Loma Linda.

The city would receive transient occupancy tax revenue in the form of a 10-percent surcharge added to each guest's hotel bill.

Since the project is in a redevelopment area, the city also would get increased property tax revenue from the hotel.

"In a tenuous economic atmosphere, this can be very, very good for the economic health of the city," said Christianson, who also owns the Masamune Sword Shop on the site.

Christianson said he plans to continue his business either out of his house or on the Internet once the sword shop is torn down.

Shantu Patel, an Oceanside doctor and hotel developer, heads the ownership group building the project.

Barring unforeseen circumstances, Patel said he would like to break ground in January 2010.

The hotel is slated to open in mid- to late-2010.

The hotel also would feature a restaurant with beer and wine service and have a large room for meetings and conferences.

Dina Weiss, chief executive officer of the Chamber of Commerce, said the Holiday Inn would be a bright spot in the midst of the recession.

"We have the Loma Linda Inn and a couple of small motels, but nothing that has a meeting space area or restaurant," Weiss said. "There's a lot of people who are staying outside the city. It's definitely going to be advantageous to have more options close by."

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