Cathedral City presents State of the City address
Cathedral City Mayor Mark Carnevale presented the State of the City Tuesday at the DoubleTree by Hilton Golf Resort — updating projects, new businesses and talking about future growth.
The event was hosted by the Greater Coachella Valley Chamber of Commerce, and featured a luncheon and a review of the progress made in Cathedral City over the past year, along with providing an update on new developments to come in 2019.
The theme and slogan for this year’s address was “The Year We Rise.”
“2019 is going to be the year we rise in Cathedral City,” Mayor Carnevale told News Channel 3’s Jake Ingrassia. “You’re going to see a lot of buildings coming up, a lot of new industries coming here to Cathedral City.”
Carnevale discussed the development of the city’s downtown arts and entertainment district, calling it “a place to have dinner, have a cocktail, watch a live theatrical play.”
A major project for the community, the Agua Caliente casino, is still awaiting federal approval before ground can break.
“I’m hoping for sometime this summer,” said Tom Davis, chief of planning and development for the Agua Caliente Band of Cahuilla Indians.
“You’ve got to realize you can’t put a gaming property on land that’s not tribal land so that’s the first process that has to happen and is dependent on the federal government and federal agencies,” Councilmember Raymond Gregory said.
Another big point of the address discussed: housing in Cathedral City, which is working on two major developments, including the Verano community near Landau Blvd. 329 entry-level homes will be built, generating $94 million in local income, and adding 1,292 local jobs.
“It’s going to open up a lot of new housing and it’s right in the middle of Cathedral City and really in the middle of the valley,” Randy Wiemer said, a Cathedral City resident and realtor. “As a realtor representing buyers coming into the area, it’s so easy for us now to bring them into Cathedral City and show them everything that’s going on.”
The address also discussed the city’s finances, showing it ended the 2018 fiscal year with a nearly-$900-thousand surplus, instead of in the projected deficit mode.
It also touted a reduction in crime, by nearly 55 percent.
“It’s a great city and I’ve seen so many projections of new things coming in and they’re really working on it,” Wiemer said.”
You can reach Jake on Twitter, Facebook or email him at jake.ingrassia@kesq.com.
