California Apparel News

Desert Fashion Plaza, the one-time hub of upscale retailing in Palm Springs, Calif., became the desert hamlet’s bane when its anchor, Saks Fifth Avenue, left town four years ago. The center, which has been vacant for the past three years, has been a prominent eyesore along Palm Canyon Drive, the city’s main thoroughfare.

Now the plaza looks like it will receive the renovation that had been initially planned in the 1990s. Property owner Wessman Development Co. has enlisted Scottsdale, Ariz.–based Nelson Architects to draw up plans for a newand- improved shopping center with apparel boutiques, upscale eateries and entertainment attractions.

“There’s been talk of various plans, such as opening up a thoroughfare to the [Palm Springs Desert] Museum and doing an open-air concept,” said Janet Cook, chief executive officer of the Palm Springs Chamber of Commerce. “Hiring an architect is a really positive move. We’re excited.”

Nelson, which has done a number of projects in the Arizona desert, is expected to complete preliminary concepts within the next 90 days.

The plaza has seen its share of owners and setbacks over the years. Several investor groups, including AZ Partners in Phoenix and partner Excel Legacy Corp. in San Diego, owned the property. Four years ago, Excel sold it to Wessman, which immediately was hit with Saks’ departure. Soon neighboring boutiques were complaining about the absence of an anchor. “Part of the delay has come from Wessman trying to determine the right formula, which stores to put in,” Cook said.

The plaza was once thriving, with stores such as Saks, I. Magnin, Ted Lange Shoes, Victoria’s Secret and Silverwood’s. New retail developments—including the Gardens on Paseo in Palm Desert, Calif.; Old Town in La Quinta, Calif.; and The River in Coachella, Calif.—have brought new retail elements to the desert. But there is still demand for upscale retail establishments in the downtown area, said Jerry Ogburn, director of the Palm Springs Downtown Development Committee, which is gathering demographics and other data for the city.

“The population base is growing,” Ogburn said. “We’re getting an influx of residents buying homes priced from $600,000 to over $1 million. They have no place nearby to shop. Now that we have the demographic base, we have to attract the good stores.”

Preliminary site plans are expected to reach the city’s planning commission in May. Construction could begin within a year after that and the first shops could open in two years, city officials said.

In the meantime, the city will receive input from a design review committee, which will make suggestions on what the center should look like.

Some older retailers in the area said they would like to see the center developed.

“It’s been sitting there so long. We would like to have some competition,” said a representative of Frenchy’s, a 50-year-old boutique on Palm Canyon Drive. —Robert McAllister