PALM SPRINGS, CA — Nearly one year after a car bomb destroyed a fertility clinic in Palm Springs, a groundbreaking ceremony was held to kick of the rebuilding effort.
City officials joined American Reproductive Centers on Monday for a ceremony at the same location where the clinic was bombed last year.
RELATED: Palm Springs Fertility Clinic Reopens For Business At New Location
The accused bomber, 25-year-old Guy Edward Bartkus of Twentynine Palms, was killed and four people were injured after a 2010 silver Ford sedan exploded at ARC's clinic at 1199 North Indian Canyon Drive on May 17, 2025.
The blast blew debris hundreds of feet away from the site of the explosion, which could be heard more than a mile away.
FBI officials said the blast was one of the largest bombings in the history of Southern California.
RELATED: Fertility Clinic Bomber Wrote 'Anti Pro-Life' Manifesto: U.S. Attorney
The clinic was not open during the bombing, and no embryos were destroyed.
On Monday, Dr. Maher Abdallah, the founder and medical director of ARC, was accompanied at the ceremony by Mayor Naomi Soto, City Manager Scott Stiles, and Fire Chief Paul Alvarado.
After the bombing, ARC set up a temporary location at the El Mirador Medical Plaza, across the street from the clinic's original site on Indian Canyon Drive.
Abdallah said he hopes the new building will be completed by the end of the year and fully operating in 2027.
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