The mayor of Palm Desert finished the week with an update on the city.
At this year’s State of the City, Mayor Sabby Jonathan, laid-out several future plans for Palm Desert, such as beginning construction of CV Link later in the year, but also new developments around the campuses of CSUSBPD and UCR.
Jonathan said the development will be different to the current aesthetic of the city, he said, "Smaller homes, very little backyards, but instead a sense of community." He said the traditional 10,000 square feet lots will be reduced to 4,000.
He said the goal of the planned project is to have more housing options at different price points that students and young professionals can afford.
Jonathan said, "There’ll be neighborhood gardens, there’ll be neighborhood yoga pads, there’ll be lanes for walking and biking, not on the street but through the homes, there’ll be front porches."
He said they need more housing to fit the growing campus, he said CSUSBPD is almost reaching 8,000 students.
First-year student, Tatiana Savala, said she usually studies around the CSU campus, but she said she would like more options to spend the time.
Savala said, "A place where students can go and hang out, do work, not so much focused on education but a place that’s fun for them."
She said she would like to see more of a college community on and off campus.
And as student enrollment continues to grow at Cal State San Bernardino Palm Desert Campus, Mayor Jonathan said in about five to ten years, it will be renamed to just CSU Palm Desert.
