Council to review updates on Dream Hotel, Orchid Tree Hotel projects

Two long-discussed hotel projects in Palm Springs — the Dream Hotel near the convention center and the proposed Orchid Tree Hotel downtown — are scheduled to come before the City Council next week as officials continue working through the long and complicated process of bringing both developments to completion.

At its regular meeting next Wednesday, March 11, the council will consider an amendment to the development agreement tied to the stalled Dream Hotel project and receive a milestone update on the Orchid Tree Hotel proposal.

The Dream Hotel project is planned for the northwest corner of Avenida Caballeros and East Amado Road, near the Palm Springs Convention Center. Councilmembers will be asked to approve an amendment to the 2023 settlement and development agreement between the city and Selene Palm Springs LLC, the project’s developer.

According to city staff, the amendment is intended to update the project’s schedule and establish clearer milestones as the developer continues preparing for construction.

The revised agreement would outline a detailed performance timeline extending from late 2025 through the anticipated opening of the hotel. The schedule includes benchmarks for completing construction documents, securing financing, beginning construction and ultimately opening the hotel.

The amendment would also formalize several community outreach commitments from the developer. Those include hosting monthly neighborhood meetings, maintaining a project website and email contact for residents, and providing regular updates about project timelines and construction activity.

In addition, the revised agreement would require the developer to maintain the project site during the pre-construction period, including monitoring conditions, maintaining fencing and landscaping, and addressing neighborhood concerns about the property.

City staff say the amendment would not change the city’s previously approved hotel incentive program participation or increase the city’s financial obligations related to the project.

The council will also receive an update on the proposed Orchid Tree Hotel project at 284 Baristo Rd., another long-discussed hospitality development near downtown.

The project, proposed by the Weintraub Group, would include a three-story luxury hotel with approximately 72 guest rooms, along with restoration of historic structures on the site. Specifically, plans call for several historic bungalows to be converted into hotel guest rooms and for a historic church building on the property to be adapted for hotel services and restaurant use, along with the addition of spa and event facilities.

In a report prepared for the meeting, city staff wrote that the developer recently submitted materials required to meet a key milestone under the project’s development agreement after an earlier deadline was extended.

Planning staff say the materials appear to substantially comply with the milestone requirements, though the city will continue reviewing the submission as the project moves forward.

The next major milestone for the Orchid Tree development will require the developer to secure the necessary land-use entitlements by October of this year.

The Council meeting is scheduled for Wednesday at 5:30 p.m. at City Hall. An agenda and information on how to participate in the meeting or make comments to councilmembers can be found here.

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