COD Palm Springs campus could break ground this fall, city leaders told by college officials
As outlined in a 30-page presentation discussed with members of the Palm Springs City Council Thursday, the campus off South Farrell Drive should begin offering classes in spring 2027.
After years of contentious and sometimes cantankerous discussions between officials at College of the Desert (COD) and the city of Palm Springs, the relationship appears to be back on the right track, and so does a planned COD campus here.
Driving the news: During Thursday evening’s City Council meeting, Scott Adkins, COD’s director of education centers for the West Valley, and Laura Hope, interim superintendent president of the college, sounded upbeat while presenting the latest update on a project more than a decade in the making.
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The latest: As outlined in a 30-page presentation Adkins and Hope presented to councilmembers, the campus off South Farrell Drive is on track to break ground this fall, with construction ending in winter 2026 and the first classes starting in spring 2027. Earlier this month, bonds totalling roughly half of the $405 million cost of construction were approved by the college’s Board of Trustees.
- “How confident are you in the timeline?” asking Palm Springs Mayor Jeffrey Bernstein. “Very,” replied Hope.
Zoom in: “(T)he Palm Springs Campus is intended to be a living laboratory, providing general and basic skills education in four targeted academic areas: hospitality and tourism, media and the arts, allied health, and sustainable technology,” the report read. “…the Palm Springs Campus will provide more opportunity to work with industry partners and serve as a proving ground.”
What they’re saying: “I want to thank you for the work. I want to thank you for coming and presenting to us. I want to thank you for bringing this college to our city,” Bernstein told the COD officials. “I know it’s been a long time, but it’s great to see it finally a reality coming soon.”
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