Project brings charm, jobs to downtown
THE DESERT SUN
Published May 24th, 2000
If construction begins in October as expected on a new $90 million resort, it will be the first resort project
of its type in Palm Springs proper in more than a decade.
The Palm Springs City Council offered its blessing last week to the project, planned for South Palm Canyon Drive
near Mesquite Avenue. At final buildout the Radisson Resort and Vacation Villas at Star Canyon is slated to have
nearly 200 hotel rooms and 176 time-share units.
While no one spoke against the project by New Millennium Development Inc. at last week’s meeting, we expect that
there will be some rumblings about whether the multistory hotel fits into the downtown village motif.
We certainly would argue that the Radisson project, which is expected to be built in phases over the next six years,
will be a stellar addition to the southern section of the downtown district.
But that may not be a universally held opinion in the community. And at least one member of The Desert Sun’s editorial
board was not too pleased with the scale of the project. However, we think the project will add its own distinctive
charm to Palm Springs through its European design.
If all goes as planned, we won’t have to wait long to see the project take shape. The project’s developer, J. Burton
Gold, said the major portion of the hotel could be open by summer of next year. We doubt the city will balk at
the additional bed-tax receipts either.
But it will be important to keep an eye on what the addition of 200 new motel rooms does to occupancy rates in
the city. Ideally, the resort will be accompanied by a boost in people to stay there, not just a siphoning of guests
from other motels or resorts in the city or the rest of the Coachella Valley.
The valley economy will also welcome the additional jobs during construction and to staff the resort. Given the
area’s low unemployment, that may also mean a few new residents will be moving to our fair valley, perhaps to occupy
some of the homes which are currently under construction in our various communities.
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