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HomeMy WebLinkAboutHistoric Preservation Committee - Palm Desert Lodgethedesertsun.com Iconic motel's future murky Page 1 of 2 Return to article I Return to Growth & Developi lent MEETING £ATE Iconic motel's future murky Developer eyes site of Palm Desert Lodge K Kaufmann The Desert Sun November 3, 2005 Ask almost anyone at the corner of Deep Canyon Road and Highway 111 which they prefer - the funky '50s pink hotel or a new Walgreens - and the answer is unequivocal. "I wouldn't want a Walgreens," said Ryan Taylor, a lifelong resident of Palm Desert who has been staying at the Palm Desert Lodge for two weeks while looking for a condo. The hotel's "been here forever," he said. "It's known all over the valley, and it's got the best prices." The fate of the hotel at 74-527 Highway 111 will be discussed at a special meeting of the Palm Desert Historical Preservation Committee at Friday at City Hall. Evergreen Devco, a commercial development firm with offices in Phoenix and Glendale, has asked the committee for a preliminary evaluation of the site and whether the city could classify the hotel as an historic building. The company may be planning a Walgreens for the site, said Amir Hamidzadeh, director of Building and Safety for Palm Desert. Tyler Carlson, project manager for Evergreen, declined to comment on the company's plans, but said he would be attending the meeting Friday. Michael Noto, the hotel's general manager and a co-owner, was not available for comment. Built in the 1950s, the hotel is a concrete pink box that Jim West, a member of the historical preservation committee, described as "very declarative (and) very visible to people who came through the city." 1/ /C • D5 1011TIIHUED TO 1 9 PASSED TO 2ND READING t )rriei:r..: The Palm Desert Lodge on Highway 111 TALK OF THE DAY Is the Palm Desert Lodge worth saving? A commercial development firm has shown interest in changing the site where the Palm Desert Lodge sits. PRO: There needs to he cooperation with builders and m, ke sure the property gets its best use and that their needs are met. :� CON: The building is an exam p of older roadside motels rare to fi -� these days and carries the nostalgia of an era gone by. IF YOU GO WHAT: Palm Desert Historical w Preservation Committee WHEN: 10 a.m. Friday WHERE: City Hall He also noted that pictures of the hotel and its trademark neon sign had been included in "Palm Springs Weekend," a popular coffee table book on area architecture. Mary Vartanian, another Palm Desert resident, said losing the hotel would be like "losing a little bit of your culture." "It's like old Palm Springs," she said. "It's the good old days that brought us to where we are now." sz p a• i1 Making any determination on the hotel's historic value may be complicated by the current state of Palm Desert's hist(L- preservation ordinance though. ya Committee members are in the process of updating the ordinance, which is vague on details of what constitutes a historic site and how it should be evaluated. The committee is allowed to make "surveys, studies or investigations as it deems necessary," according to the law. Peter Moruzzi, who heads up the Palm Springs Modern Committee, a historical preservation nonprofit, said no action should be taken until the hotel is evaluated by a qualified architectural historian, as is required in Palm Springs. DPA` €l VWefF' http://www.thedesertsun.com/apps/pbcs.d11/article?Date=2005 I 03&Catcgory—NEWS05&ArtNo... 1 l /3/2005 thedesertsun.com I Iconic motel's future murky Page 2 of 2 "Those types of roadside accommodation, which were very common 40 years ago, are very rare today," he said. "It should require a review prior to a decision being made." Moruzzi pointed out similar hotels in Palm Springs, such as the Oasis and the Orchid Tree Inn, that had been evaluated by the city. Jan Holmlund, who is heading up the Palm Desert committee's efforts to update the ordinance, said, "This committee is attempting to meet all the modern challenges of historic preservation and retain the variety and vitality of the cultures that brought Palm Desert into being so we end up with a visually exciting community." And she noted that if a decision is made Friday, it will be reported to the city's Building Department, the Planning Commission and the City Council. The council will make the final determination on the hotel's historic status. Kent Routh, chair of the Historic Preservation Committee, said the group might be open to the kind of official evaluation Moruzzi recommends. "I think we're going to try to move it a long as expeditiously as we can," Routh said of the Evergreen proposal. "But we're not going to cashier that place without some real thought about it." Robert Pitchford, a member of the historical preservation committee, said there's a certain amount of sentimentality about older buildings that tugs at one. But other considerations exist. "That's an important corner, and I don't know whether it's getting its best use. But what is its best use?" he said. Customer service About this site Contact us F A Q. Subscribe Now, Advertise CLASSIFIED PARTNERS' Jobs: CareerBuilder.com I Cars: Cars.com I Apartments Apartments com I Shopping. ShopLocal.com Copyright © 2005 The Desert Sun Use of this site signifies your agreement to the Terms of Service and Privacy Policy. updated June 7. 2005 33, GAMIETr 'oJ i erETT http://www.thedesertsun.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?Date=20051103&Category=NEWS05&ArtNo... 1 1 /3/2005