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The Place to Be!

By Shellie Karabell

Seen Right: Hog Wild Restaurant, scheduled to open in December 2007.
www.ArthurColeman.com

Indio is the Coachella Valley’s oldest city: first surveyed in 1888 and incorporated in 1930 (population 1,875). It is also the region’s “newest city,” bustling and changing with the population growth of the California desert cities resort area. Indio itself today is dynamic, cutting-edge, forward-thinking: mindful of its citizens, and respectful of its rich heritage, for this is the cradle of the Coachella Valley. It all started here.

In 1872, the Southern Pacific Railway selected presentday Indio as its hub for the transcontinental railroad, connecting the West Coast with the rest of the country. The last phase of the 1848 Gold Rush created a stream of miners and settlers eager to reach California. The first trains from Los Angeles rolled through in 1876, the continent fully linked by rail a year later.

Rail connections brought new settlers, new industry, and more growth: Indio is the bedrock of the valley’s major industries: recreation and tourism, agriculture, retail, and distribution.

What is today Interstate 10 was born, as Highway 99 and Highways 60 & 70 were completed in 1923 and 1930, respectively. The 1930s Depression brought the world’s largest construction project, as well as thousands of workers, to Indio: the Metropolitan Aqueduct bringing water from the Colorado River to the Los Angeles basin. During World War II, Gen. George Patton trained his desert-bound troops on a site 25 miles east of Indio, creating a local demand for recreation, as well as turning the city into a center for troop deployment. Peacetime expanded the local agricultural industry, with the creation of the Coachella Branch of the All-American Canal. Indio became the food processing capital of the region and a major retail center.

Indio is no stranger to growth — or to managing it. In 1896, the city listed 50 inhabitants. By 1909, the city’s school census noted 43 families (including 82 children) within its borders. By 1950, 5,300 people lived in Indio; by 1964, the number jumped to 13,450. California state statistics show the city’s population grew to 66,118 in 2005, and local statistics show the city well ahead of its population projections. More than 77,000 residents claimed an Indio address in 2006, and some 95,000 are expected to do so by 2012. There are the seasonal “snowbirds,” who, like the early Native American tribes, come to the region to enjoy warm sun in the winter months. These add at least another 8,000 people to Indio’s population.

Throughout history, people have come to Indio for the quality of life: the natural beauty of the mountains and the surrounding desert. Recreation has always been a draw: Aviator Jacqueline Cochran Odlum built the valley’s second golf course on her ranch just south of Indio in 1947, for example. Health and fitness are longstanding draws: Nelson’s Health Camp precedes today’s spa resorts by more than half a century.

The valley’s population growth of the last five years has awakened Indio from a sort of urban malaise that affects cities of all sizes after a time. But as the wave of residents moving to the valley approached Indio, the city’s administration and council — through foresight and judicious planning — have been able to stay ahead of the curve.

In April 2005, the Indio City Council and a new administration team headed by City Manager Glenn Southard, laid out five priorities for the coming years. They included streets, parks, water, public safety, and retail. It was an ambitious agenda.

To date, more than 70 acres of parkland have been purchased for a total of $26 million. Some $31 million has been spent on water infrastructure improvements, increasing storm drain capacity, and bringing water to new gated residential developments north of the freeway. The city has spent more than $36 million on road improvements, more than $7 million on police and fire structural and facilities expansion, and $117,000 on Art in Public Places. Those funds and another $5.7 million earmarked next year for highway landscaping evidence that Indio has moved beyond the “meat-and-potatoes” stage of redevelopment. This year’s capital improvement budget exceeds $137 million.

A teen center, to be completed next year, will offer recreational facilities and activities to the Indio High School students just across the street. In the near future, a new senior center, located around the corner from the teen center, will break ground and, the city recently purchased the old Ralphs building as the site for a new city library, adjacent to the Indio teen center. The Indio teen center, senior center, and new library will form the region’s first intergenerational campus.

But, who is footing the tab for the city’s improvements? In these days of real estate “correction,” it is all too easy for ambitious plans to become sidetracked.

“We have managed to secure state and federal grants for many of our infrastructure and public safety improvement programs,” Southard says. “And developers have been paying their fair share of fees for necessary infrastructure.”

“The paving of the streets, the renovation of the parks, and the rebuilding of the water system are some of the more visible results of the new dedication, philosophy, and expertise at City Hall,” says City Councilwoman Melanie Fesmire. “But the city still needs additional infrastructure: the water reservoirs in the Shadow Hills area, the bridge over the wash at Miles Avenue, the Jefferson Street overpass and interchange at Interstate 10 … the new police and fire station, to name a few. The city has some monies to bring these projects to fruition, but the rest must come from increased sales tax revenues, state and federal grants; and if the citizens have sufficient faith in the new approach, they may be willing to tax themselves to raise additional revenue.”

There is no dearth of things to do in Indio. Nature lovers appreciate that the city is the gateway to Joshua Tree National Park, where the Colorado and Mojave Deserts merge and some of the country’s most unusual scenery can be found, along with hiking and bird-watching. There is world-class polo, and when the polo grounds are not engaged in equestrian activities, they are home to the Palm Springs Kennel Club Dog Show, the second-largest such show in the country; the Stagecoach California’s Country Music Festival, and Coachella Music and Arts Festival, which draws tens of thousands of visitors. Rolling Stone Magazine calls it, “the best American rock festival.”

Gaming and more musical entertainment — with acts such as Vince Gill, Kenny G, and Clay Aiken, can be found year-round at Fantasy Springs Casino. In November, Native American culture takes center stage at the casino grounds when the Powwow takes place, hosted by the Cabazon Band of Mission Indians and featuring Native American food, music, artwork, and costumes. Additionally, the International Tamale Festival and the Southwest Arts Festival draw thousands of visitors to the city each year.

The city and its redevelopment agency have recently purchased 30 percent of the property downtown, representing more than 26 acres of downtown building space in an effort to revitalize the Miles Avenue Oasis Street shopping area. Already, a multifaceted entertainment center called the Indio Performing Arts Center located in the old Twisters building has attracted thousands to the downtown area for live entertainment. The nearby Desert Theatre will feature fine dining and other amenities that are sure to bring many others to the area.

On the development front, the valley’s biggest and most ambitious mixed-use project, Polo Square, with more than a million square feet of retail, restaurant, office and living space along Highway 111, is close to becoming a reality. The dream-come-true of long time developer Bill Swank, Polo Square has received its first $60 million investment of private international funding and will break ground next year. “Indio is the perfect location for Polo Square” Swank says. “There is plenty of room, the demand on the residential and commercial fronts, and the attitude to make it all come together in a spectacular way. With Polo Square, Indio will be raising the bar once again. It’s their time ... why not Indio?”

Mayor Ben Godfrey Mayor Pro Tem Guadalupe Watson	Council Members Melanie Fesmire Gene Gilbert Michael H. Wilson	Year Incorporated 1930 Population 77,146	Median Household Income $41,791
		The city is spending $3 million to renovate its Municipal Golf Course. www.ArthurColeman.com
		Indio is the oldest and largest city in the Coachella Valley. www.ArthurColeman.com
		Hog Wild Restaurant on Highway 111 just east of Jefferson Street is scheduled to open in December 2007. www.ArthurColeman.com
		The Home Depot is scheduled to open in December 2007. www.ArthurColeman.com