Drawing attention from golf buffs around the world, the Bob Hope Chrysler Classic Golf Course and its $30 million, two-story Classic Club clubhouse is only the beginning of what may become a $2.5 billion project that includes a 14-story luxury hotel, condominiums and three-story retail center.
The Mediterranean-inspired monument on the golf course stands alone now, beckoning future development on the north side of Interstate 10.
If all goes according to plan, Avanterra, as the overall resort is now called, would begin construction on the development in 2008 and, by the end, would include:
A 14-story, H-shaped luxury hotel with 300 rooms, 125 residences/condos, spa and conference rooms. The hotel will appear about 12 stories tall from the freeway because it will be built on a lower level of the course. The hotel would also be designed with "dark sky" provisions.
Two five-story office buildings offering up to 230,000 square feet and gold-status ratings for large-plate offices and corporations looking to tap the newest in Internet fiber-optic technology.
A three-story, 975,000-square-foot retail center with offices and loft housing for the work force, plus two-subterranean parking levels.
Up to 790 condominiums, some with golf views, in clustered buildings that range from four to eight stories in height.
An entrepreneurial industrial park.
Palm Desert resident Richard Oliphant, president and chief executive of Oliphant Enterprises in Indian Wells, called Avanterra one of the most forward-looking land ventures he's ever worked on.
The Delfino resort project is a Smart Growth development by Desert Gold Ventures LLC that intertwines the golf resort experience with a village-within-a-village theme.
Once known as NorthStar Ranch, the project received approval in February, though changes in height and density will require another county vote.
"This will put the valley on the map," said Oliphant, who moved here in 1962. "There's probably not another project like this in Southern California," he said on its environmental friendliness.
Oliphant said nontraditional financing is already in place for the project. Final talks for a luxury name brand for the hotel are progressing.
Designed by the internationally-renown hospitality architectural firm, Wimberly Allison Tong & Goo, the project has energy efficiencies built into it.
It is destined to turn this sector of the valley into a "world-class" area, said Kathleen Bennett, director of sales and marketing for the Classic Club.
If approved, Avanterra holds the potential to employ at least 5,000 people when completed.
Market conditions are also prime for construction right now, Oliphant noted, as costs are in line for retail development.
"By the time the product comes on line, we believe the economy will be rebounding,'' he said.
John Wohlmuth, executive director of the Coachella Valley Association of Governments, said the project with higher density parameters also promises to be one of the largest Smart Growth developments in the Coachella Valley.
It could ultimately consolidate municipal services and lessen the demand on the regional transportation system, and reduce greenhouse gases emitted and water consumption.
When one considers that the population could hit 1 million in 2035 in the Coachella Valley, and the traffic count near the newly developed retail corner at I-10 and Monterey is hovering around 43,039 cars a day, Wohlmuth said the 186-acre project could be a model of efficient development.
Traffic counts based on the modified plan that still needs county approval would add about 3,000 vehicles to the roughly 13,000 vehicles, Oliphant noted.
To reduce the impact, the developers have already widened Varner Road from two to six lanes. The Cook Street intersection at Varner Road has been rebuilt, and traffic signals have been set up along the intersection closest to Washington Street.
More than $21 million has been invested in infrastructure to date, said Michael Shepherd, a spokesman for Praetorian Development, which saw how the Classic Club Golf Course could be interwoven into a development that could anchor a fully sustainable, mixed-use development unlike anything the Coachella Valley has seen.
While other sectors in the valley boast attributes of Smart Growth, he said, "Avanterra has an advantage in that it's got a blank canvas to work from."
The project holds potential to be a well-known resort with business opportunities and a quality of life that will rival many other destinations, said John Soulliere, president and chief executive of Coachella Valley Economic Partnership.
One amenity could play off another, he said.
Tourists taking in the Bob Hope Chrysler Classic tournament on the 236-acre golf course or chipping around the pine tree-laden greens, for example, may opt to move their corporation here.
Positioned near Palm Desert's 2,100-acre university park development on the other side of I-10 at Cook Street is also key.
The district extends well beyond the corridor where Cal State San Bernardino and UC Riverside have ongoing extension campus expansions. It's considered some of the last prime development land in the central Coachella Valley.
And the Evans Co.'s $40 million development called The Village at University Park, as well as a myriad businesses that includes D'Mundo's and Starbucks Coffee Co., have set their eyes on this niche area.
"We're toying with the idea of calling this area the intellectual center of the valley for business,'' said Soulliere, citing this high-tech accouterment: dark fiber-optic lines offering super-sized, broadband Internet and networking capabilities.
"It ties together the ideal that you can have a globally-competitive business at work while you enjoy a resort lifestyle," he said.
Palm Desert Councilman Robert Spiegel said he believes the city will benefit from the retail sales tax from the added residents and businesses that would likely gravitate to the south side of I-10.
"I think this will develop in a slow, but important way and will be a good thing for the valley,'' Spiegel said.
Already approved is development of the office complex, which could break ground as early as fall 2008, with the retail possibly following in 2009. Hotel construction is slated for 2010, with completion possible in 2012.
Hello Palm Springs & Golf Fans,
I like the ideas stated above, but I do not like the idea that we always have to add condos to the deal. We have tons of Condos now in the desert!!! Just a thought. But this deal will bring more people to the Bob Hope Chrysler Classic... www.bhcc.com
What do you think?
David
But the Bob Hope Classic is mainly a fund rasier for the Desert Charities... And with the name Bob Hope on it...well It becomes BIGGER!!! As for the project...bring it on...just more on hotel space, less on the condos.
Thank for the Memories Bob