Development Opportunity Study in Palm Desert

Since the dissolution of redevelopment, Urban Futures Inc. (UFI) has been the City of Palm Desert’s go-to consulting firm for economic development analysis, and has performed several studies for the City over the past few years.

The City recently engaged UFI to determine the economic viability of hotels at various sites throughout the City. With the loss of redevelopment, cities no longer possess the tools once available to incentivize development. Now, more than ever, cities are competing for developer interest. As a result, the City of Palm Desert is investing resources to encourage hotel development in a valley with many options for tourist-oriented growth.

The City sought to highlight the sites:

The City of Palm Desert has taken a proactive approach in their quest for quality hotel development. By performing site analysis for specific properties in the City, developers now have less initial research to do when determining the viability of projects. At each location, UFI looked at the potential lot capacity, project stabilization occupancy rate and the average daily rate to be expected at the property. By performing this analysis on a variety of sites, the City not only does the initial legwork for the developer, but also provides a guide for what they would like to see developed on the property, thus creating a more streamlined entitlement process once a developer is engaged.

“It is really a new way of doing business when it comes to a city’s role in the development process. Palm Desert has the right idea. By investing a little up front, they not only get to be a more proactive marketer of their opportunity sites, but they also get more input in the design process by laying out their vision at the onset,” said UFI CEO Michael Busch.

For more information on the economic development analysis services offered by UFI, contact Michael Busch at michaelb@urbanfuturesinc.com or (714) 283-9334.

Urban Futures, Inc. has been providing services to local governmental agencies for over 43 years. Operating as five divisions – UFI Public Management Group, UFI Public Finance Group, UFI Sustainable Communities Development Group, UFI Analytics & Compliance Group, and Isom Advisors – UFI offers clients a growing portfolio of services and industry expertise that might otherwise be out of reach. Over 300 public agencies have benefited from partnering with UFI. UFI is based in Orange, CA with a Northern California office in Walnut Creek. Visit their website at www.urbanfuturesinc.com or call (714) 283-9334.