Businesses face uncertainty in wake of bombing as repairs begin, investigation continues

As authorities continue to comb through piles of debris for evidence and out of town media crews begin to pack up, local business owners, city officials and others are thinking about the people left behind to deal with the aftermath of a deadly bombing this weekend in Downtown Palm Springs and how the community will be able to move forward.

Business owners are banding together to recover — despite challenges that could threaten their survival and the livelihoods of their employees; police are expressing relief that only the suspected bomber was killed; and city staff members are focused on how to provide assistance for everyone impacted by the blast.

The explosion at the American Reproductive Centers building in the 1100 block of North Indian Canyon Drive, which left the suspected bomber dead and four others injured, also caused what is so far an unknown amount of damage to nearby properties, but it is substantial. Among them were hotels filled with visitors on yet another warm Palm Springs weekend.

Dr. Maher Abdallah told The Desert Sun that while the in vitro fertilization lab in Palm Springs in the building is functional, the surgery center is not. Clinic staff planned to resume patient care at a temporary location in Palm Desert on Monday.

“We will return to our Palm Springs location once renovation is complete,” Abdallah wrote in a text message to the newspaper. “We will bounce back better than ever before. Helping families is our calling. Nothing will derail this project. We forgive the perpetrator. Our focus remains on life and hope.”

Meanwhile, nearby businesses are trying valiantly to reopen.

David Rios, owner of the Velvet Rope boutique hotel at 120 West Veredasur — almost immediately across the street from the blast site — was supervising repairs to the property Monday between interviews with Los Angeles television news stations. He was nearby when the blast went off Saturday, and said he was immediately concerned about hotel guests and staff.

Within minutes of the blast, and the ensuing chaos, neighboring hotels stepped in to help him, offering shelter to displaced guests as emergency crews began assessing the destruction.

“Thank God all the small hotels — the Jazz Hotel, the Skylark, Avalon and Trixie Motel — opened their doors for us,” Rios said. “We were able to get people out within 45 minutes of the explosion into new accommodations.”

Rios estimates the Velvet Rope sustained more than $200,000 in damage, including blown-out windows, damaged doors and air conditioning units, and a compromised roof.

As he walked through the property Monday afternoon, he stopped in one room to show a spot outside where a piece of the vehicle used by the bomber tore through fencing and destroyed some of his air conditioning equipment.

“Doors just exploded even though they were locked… The windows — thank God — the majority of the curtains were shut and that protected a lot of people.”

While grateful that the damage was limited to structures, repairing it and resuming business may not come soon enough to avoid a severe financial toll. Some business owners, including Rios, say they were blindsided to learn that their insurance providers are unlikely to cover the damage.

“You come to find out today that they’re not offering or insuring us for anything because it’s now categorized as a terrorist attack,” Rios said. “That’s an additional insurance that they don’t even offer you.”

Local officials have begun mobilizing to explore emergency aid. Communications Director Amy Blaisdell said Monday that the city is reaching out to state and federal agencies, including the California Office of Emergency Services and the Small Business Administration, to identify support options.

“City staff is discussing a number of options related to how we can best assist businesses and streamline processes,” Blaisdell said.

In the meantime, some businesses have taken recovery efforts into their own hands. The Wyndham Hotel sent over repair crews to help replace shattered windows at the Velvet Rope. The glass repair company — Executive Glass — has offered flexible payment terms for the work.

As recovery continues, law enforcement remains focused on investigating the blast. Speaking across the street from Desert Regional Medical Center, Lt. Mike Villegas of the Palm Springs Police Department said the FBI and Riverside County Bomb Squad are still collecting evidence at the site.

“They’re looking for any type of evidence, fragments of anything — specifically explosives — anything that could identify what was used in the explosion,” Villegas said.

On Monday, authorities confirmed via social media that the remains found at the scene belonged to the suspected bomber, a 25-year-old Twentynine Palms man. Though the attack caused significant damage, Villegas noted that it could have been far worse.

“If there’s any silver lining, it’s that we didn’t suffer a mass casualty incident,” he said. “The only person who died was the guy responsible for this, and four people were injured without critical injuries.”

Members of the Palm Springs City Council and public safety officials have been in direct contact with affected business owners. Rios said every member of the Council has either called or visited him, as has Police Chief Andy Mills and his wife, Cathy Mills.

Still, for businesses already navigating an unpredictable economy, the explosion represents another major setback — one they’re unsure they can overcome. “Our poor cleaning ladies,” Rios remarked, fighting back tears as he spoke about any loss of business at his nine-room property.

“We barely made it last year,” Rios said, referring to the long, hot summers that impact tourist traffic. “There were months where we had no stays. We barely bounced back from that, and now we have this.”

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