89-Room hotel looking to land in former Columbia Cinema parking lot in The Dalles

A request to build an 89-room mid-level hotel in the parking lot of the former Columbia Cinema parking lot is being sought by Manny Patel of Motel 6 in The Dalles and his business partners.

By Tom Peterson 

The Dalles, Ore., March 3, 2026 — Manny Patel at Motel 6 in west The Dalles had some big news this morning.

Patel is a member of the motel owners who purchased the shuttered Columbia Cinemas property last year and has now applied to build a four-story, 89-room hotel on the site’s parking lot in west The Dalles.

Excited, Manny?

“Oh Yeah,” he said this morning. 

Patel and his partners operating under Radhaji LLC have submitted an application to the City of The Dalles seeking approval to construct a hotel with a pool, gym and other amenities at 2727 W. 7th St., according to a notice of administrative application issued by the city’s Community Development Department.

Are you going to demolish the cinema building?

“It does not require that,” Patel said. “Maybe we can use that building — bring it in. It might make a nice small convention center. It’s a good multi-use building.”

Photo of the Cinema building. The accompanying land seen in dead fauna to the southeast is also owned by Radhaji LLC and no plans for that ground have been made public at this time.

The proposal calls for a mixed-use building that would include approximately 89 guest rooms above about 9,500 square feet of ground-floor retail space and building services. The project would total roughly 96,000 square feet and rise four stories on property zoned General Commercial.

Are you doing your own motel or a franchise?

“We’re doing a franchise,” he said. “I’m not able to say right now. We’re waiting for approval. It’s a mid-level hotel.”

Pool? Gym?

“Yeah,” he said.

The property includes the 14,000-square-foot Columbia Cinemas building and surrounding land on about 4.32 acres. The theater closed in early 2025 after nearly three decades under owner Bruce Humphrey.

Radhaji LLC purchased the cinema and adjacent land for $1.73 million in February 2025. The company’s members include Mahendra “Manny” Patel, owner and operator of the Motel 6 at 2500 W. Sixth St. in The Dalles.

So why did you decide to build now?

Patel said the timing was right, as he and his partners had finished other projects and it made sense to get going on the new hotel in The Dalles.

Are you building it yourself?

“We are using a general contractor,” he said, noting the complexity of the project. “A general contractor has it all figured out with a network of guys who can get it done on time.”

“You miss one month on a construction loan and you’re done,” he said, emphasizing the importance of getting the hotel open and generating revenue in time to meet financial obligations.

What’s the cost on a project of this size? The Holiday Inn Express on West Sixth Street cost about $12 million by the time it opened in 2020.

“That much or maybe higher,” he said. “Tariffs will play into it, and costs are much higher than when that hotel was built.”

Under the current proposal, the hotel would occupy part of the existing parking lot west of the cinema building. The surrounding property also includes about 1.69 acres of raw land directly east of the theater.

How soon will you break ground?

“We’re just waiting for the permits to get approved,” he said.

How many people will it take to run the hotel?

“20-plus,” he said.

Do contractors working on the hotel have to stay with you at Motel 6? (joke)

“You can’t put that in a contract,” he said. “But we have the lowest price point in town. I am the contractor's brand. When people pay out of their own pocket, they look for a good deal.”

The hotel application will be reviewed through an administrative land-use process by the city’s Community Development Department. Written public comments are being accepted through 5 p.m. March 16.

According to the city’s notice, the decision will be made by the community development director after reviewing the application, agency comments and applicable land-use criteria.