In the same issue with, “Adjustable loans spur new worries” and “Risks in liar loans exposed …” I also noted an article titled, “Hotel-condo complex slated for Palm Springs.”
Palm Springs was as playland of the rich and famous during the 30’s, 40’s, and certainly the 50’s (maybe 60’s). In the 1970’s, 80’s, and 90’s the Coachella Valley began to grow as a seasonal home market and retirement area giving birth to its original boom in condominium projects.
During this later period of decades Palm Springs for practical purposes ran out of desirable land for the scale of the golfcourse projects that were taking place in Rancho Mirage, Palm Desert, La Quinta and Indian Wells. In the 70’s Palm Desert was the tail wagging the dog, and won much of the new retail coming to the Valley, including the regional mall, and high-end shopping along El Paseo.
Palm Springs had always been the destination of day trippers from the Los Angeles metro areas, and the spot for a quick weekend getaway. But as its institutions and landmarks started to disappear, it was a destination in search of a niche.
The Times article tells about the $100-million Mondrain Hotel and condominium complex which is being built across from the Palm Springs Convention Center. The president of the Morgans Hotel Group Co., a New York luxury hotelier said, “We see tremendous opportunities in the resurgence of downtown Palm Springs.”
Other hotels being planned near the convention center include a Hard Rock and a Westin; two more hotel developments are waiting in the wings to announce. So, it looks to me like Palm Springs is finding its new niche as a hotel/convention portal to the larger Coachella Valley and Desert Resorts Communities. To its advantage (over the other communities) it has the only international commercial airport in the region and one of the major newly-built Indian casinos.
Why I am telling you this, because the article suggests that 20 and 30 year olds are rediscovering the City, and it asserts that, “Palm Springs is not your father’s Oldsmobile anymore.” I don’t know if I would go so far as to denigrate Oldsmobile cars driven by my father (actually, he had a couple of late 60’s Tornados that were really cool), but there is a huge amount of variety in the Desert to appeal to every age group. We are not a one-size fits all place to live or work. I am sure you could find your own niche and thrive in a career with Riverside County government in the desert.