SAN JOSE >> Developers hope to gallop to the finish line to complete a San Jose hotel in time for an upcoming Nvidia conference that packed the city’s downtown with throngs of visitors last year.

The under-construction downtown hotel developed by Bay Area real estate company Urban Catalyst would add 176 rooms to the city’s lodging supply once it’s completed.

The hotel is located at 495 W. San Carlos St., just a few blocks from the San Jose Convention Center and down the street from SAP Center, where Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang delivered a keynote address for the 2024 conference.

“We are expecting to open the hotel in March,” said Eric Hayden, founder and managing partner with Urban Catalyst.

The Urban Catalyst affiliate that owns the hotel property received a $48 million loan from Poppy Bank in 2023 to finance construction of the eight-story hotel, according to documents on file with the Santa Clara County recorder’s office.

San Jose-based Urban Catalyst has taken steps to ensure hotel construction is on enough of a fast track to finish in time for planned Nvidia events downtown. Nvidia GTC is scheduled to occur March 17-21, according to a post on the company’s website.

“We received approval to do construction on Saturday to make the work go faster,” Hayden said.

The March 2024 conference was expected to attract 16,000 attendees to the city although some estimates placed the actual number higher.

The 2025 Nvidia GTC event is expected to generate a significant economic boom in San Jose, particularly in the downtown district when attendees seek lodging, meals and entertainment before or after events. That was the case with the 2024 event, although precise numbers weren’t available.

“It could mean $500,000 in revenue if we can open in time for that conference,” Hayden said.