College Of The Desert Seeks Community Input On New Palm Springs Campus

PALM SPRINGS, CA — Palm Desert-based College of the Desert is looking for community feedback this week on plans for its Palm Springs Development Project.

The public is invited to participate in a virtual community forum regarding the project's pre-design. The forum will be held at 5:30 p.m. Thursday via Zoom (https://bit.ly/3Q8RkVn). The forum will also be viewable on the College’s YouTube page (https://www.youtube.com/user/C...).

The college purchased a property on Tahquitz Canyon Way (the old mall site) for $22 million for the purpose of developing a West Valley Campus currently called the Palm Springs Development Project.

The Palm Springs Development Project is in phase 1 (pre-design), which involves building and user requirements.

During Thursday's forum, viewers will be invited to provide their input by completing a feedback survey.

"This feedback survey will assist College of the Desert in getting a holistic view of the community needs of the Palm Springs area and refine how the project can best benefit students," according to the college.

For those unable to attend the forum during its live broadcast, the recording and feedback survey will be posted until August 18th, the college reported.

The forum comes amid concerns by the city of Palm Springs regarding the college's commitment to the project and its location.

Last week, the city of Palm Springs formally proposed to buy 119 acres from COD. The land at the northwest corner of Tramview Road and Indian Canyon Drive was given to the college by the city in 2010 for the purpose of building a West Valley Campus, but the college shifted plans to the Tahquitz Canyon Way site.

Although the city has put a purchase price on the table, Palm Springs City Attorney Jeffrey Ballinger wrote in a July 27 letter to the college, "One could argue that [the 119 acres] ought to be returned outright ... . The offer to pay not once, but twice, for the property reflects the importance of this property in advancing social equity in North Palm Springs." Read more: Future Of 119 Acres: Palm Springs Wants Property Returned From COD