Palm Desert Hotel Project Moves Forward

The vote to build a 5-Star hotel in Palm Desert was delayed in July because the city council had a lot of unanswered questions.

On Thursday, the hotel was back on the agenda, and after a close vote, the development agreement was approved.

Residents filled the council chambers near to capacity.

Dozens spoke from the podium.

The discussion lasted several hours, and eventually the vote passed three to two to move forward with the project.

The developer, PDH Partners LLC, plans on building a 5-star hotel with 82 rooms and a condominium complex with 59 units.

It would stand on 4.97 acres of vacant desert land off Highway 74, behind El Paseo and the Imago Art Gallery.

“The businesses need it,” said Robert Pippen, a consultant for the developer.

He said the hotel would bring more shops to El Paseo.

“You could see by walking down the street, there’s vacant building after vacant building,” said Pippin.

Rosewood Hotels and Resorts, a Dallas based company, would operate the property.

Project leaders said the hotel would generate $1 million in annual revenue and create 450 hotel and construction jobs.

But the potential heights of the two proposed buildings are drawing sharp criticism from the community.

“I bought (my condo) because of the mountain views and the quiet desert atmosphere, and all that’s going to change,” said Carol Fanelli, who lives next to the proposed construction site.

The zoning code in that part of the city requires a 35 foot height limit.

But the proposed height of the buildings range from 26 to 60 feet.

The principal planner for the City of Palm Desert, Tony Bagato, told the council that the ordinance allows for an exception.

Councilwoman Cindy Finerty also asked for story poles to be built on the site to give a visual of how tall the buildings would be, but the developer has refused.

“We have two story buildings that are right there on El Paseo, and you can still see the mountains,” said Ian Helmstadter, a resident who supports the hotel project.

Residents also worry that the hotel would be negatively increase traffic.

But the developer said studies show that would not be the case, and overall, the good outweighs the bad.

“There will be 82 hotel rooms, and 59 $2 million condominiums feeding wealthy people to El Paseo.”

The average room rate will be $425 a night.

The hotel is projected to open in late 2014 or early 2015.

The estimated cost of the project is $125,000,000.