Development plans for historic Palm Springs town & country center revealed
Recently revealed development plans for the historic Town and Country center is stirring up some controversy in Palm Springs.
33 percent worth of historic square footage may be demolished.
Palm Springs’ Town and Country center, a part of a rehabilitation project, is designed to connect the downtown project and the Agua Caliente Band of Cahuilla Indian’s cultural center.
“The challenge for us is how to balance the desire to preserve historic fabric and at the same time work toward providing the greatest opportunity for economic success in the downtown area,” Leo Marmol of Marmol Radziner Architecture, the firm behind the plans.
Marmol shared renderings of the project.
He explained that the buildings in blue are going to be remodeled. The ones in yellow are new developments, which are expected to be several retailers and a hotel or residential space.
Despite all the plans for the area, the Town and Country center is a designated class 1 historic site, preserving the work of architects A. Quincy Jones and Paul R. Williams, among others. Which is why some are fighting the plan.
“Tearing down anything that contributes to that heritage that we have is a huge mistake in my opinion, especially when it’s been protected by a class 1 designation,” said Palm Springs resident Debra Hovel.
Marmol is working alongside developer Michael Braun, president of Grit Development.
“We wanted to get feedback. We got positive feedback, we got negative feedback,” Braun said.
“Grit Development, we really encourage them to hire a preservation architect because of their nationally registered qualifications, who can help work with Marmol Randziner,” said Steve Keylon, vice-president of the Palm Springs Preservation Foundation.
Braun defended the architectural firm.
“They won the best historic architecture in the nation. They did three important buildings in Palm Springs,” Braun said.
Some residents supported the project, citing the development firm’s previous success with the downtown project.
“The downtown project, whether people were opposed to it or not, is a rip-roaring success, and I think Grit deserves a lot of credit and so does city council for working together and giving us something we can be proud of. I think the same thing will be true here, but the project needs to be economically viable in order to succeed,” said Palm Springs resident Robert Brugeman.
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