Developer says Palm Springs Virgin Hotel to be built by 2020
The Kimpton Rowan Hotel stands tall in the Downtown Development Project. The hotel is close to completion. Crews continue to add finishing touches to the hotel and to the retail space next door which runs along Palm Canyon Drive.
“You know, I am really excited about it. I am glad that it is almost ready to be completed. It kind of covers up the mountain, but it is going to create jobs and bring in a lot of tourists,” said Audrey Ruttan, who has lived in Palm Springs since 2006.
“I was just commenting to my daughter how awesome it looks. We have a new face lift to Palm Springs and I think it will bring more people to our community,” said Skip Lopez, who was walking in downtown with his family during Village Fest Thursday night.
City leaders are pleased with the progress.
“There were so many people who were upset about it or bulldoze it down or stop it and you don’t hear that anymore,” said Robert Moon, mayor of Palm Springs.
People can already book rooms in the Rowan Hotel online with stays starting on Nov. 26th.
Construction of the the Virgin Hotel is off to a slow start. Grit Development, formerly known as Wessman development which recently rebranded amidst bribery allegations against its former chief John Wessman, had originally planned on this hotel being complete by next year.
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But the developer got tied up in lawsuits over the height of the proposed 69 foot hotel. Those suits have since been dropped. Now Grit expects the Virgin Hotel to be built by 2020. The city still needs to see a finalized plan for the hotel.
“Our council set a requirement that they need to pull building permits by December of 2017, so we are going to have to see what they come to us with. And there will be an entire approval process for this it has to go through the whole gauntlet for approval,” Moon said.
Businesses and city leaders are looking forward to a economic boost once the Rowan Hotel hires it’s staff. As of Thursday evening, there is not a finalized date for any job fairs for the Rowan Hotel, but we do know the hotel is scheduling them in the very near future.
Stay with KESQ and CBS Local 2 for developments and job fair information.
JOE GALLI IS ON FACEBOOK AND ON TWITTER @JOEGALLINEWS
