Plans say the existing storefront at 73425 El Paseo will have 12-foot-high glazing consisting of five vertically proportioned windows beneath a white concrete facade. (Illustration: City of Palm Desert)
Palm Desert’s Architectural Review Commission (ARC) delayed approval for two storefronts in the El Paseo district, requiring the applicants to address minor architectural details before being granted approval.
City staff recommended both projects be approved with any necessary modifications as conditions of approval, but both were continued. Applicants may return to the commission or appeal to the city council.
Office Retailer Herman Miller will occupy an empty retail storefront next to Lululemon and across from the Coffee Bean and Tea Leaf. The site was previously owned by clothing retailer Sundance, which closed late last year.
Commission members voted to send the proposal back to the applicant with directions to revisit the notable standing seam component of the design. Though widely approved of, the commission required the applicant to address the shade created by its slight protrusion at the top and its unfinished bottom edge.
“This is such a simple design, and I really like it. It's very simple and strong. But because it's so simple, it's important that the details are well done.” said commissioner John Vuksic of the proposed Herman Miller design.
A luxury jeweler which acquired existing retailer Leeds & Son in 2022, Bucherer is planning to expand its existing footprint at the corner of El Paseo and Larrea Street to incorporate a neighboring empty suite as an expanded business and storage area.
The proposed Bucherer (pronounced “Booker-er”) expansion was sent back with direction that the designers remove a cornice overhanging the eastern half of the building and include matching plant material in the landscape portion.
The color palette and “metal portals” of the existing building at 73680 El Paseo will be transposed to the new building. (Illustration: City of Palm Desert)
“It's clear that the applicant is trying to make this cohesive, so I think that’s what we should be looking at,” said Vuksic, who ultimately made the motion to continue the project.
Instead of approving the project with these as conditions of approval however, Chair Geoff Gregory recommended the item be continued so the commission can review it a second time.
“If we're going to, it's going to back with that anyway, I would like to see what that looks like without it on there, versus making it a condition and then realizing, oh, maybe that wasn't a good idea,” he said.
“Fills in those gaps when we don’t have anything,” he said later.
In their submission to the commission, city staff said the proposed Herman Miller design complements the surrounding area and is “not detrimental to the harmonious, orderly, and attractive development” prioritized in the general plan. Similarly, the Bucherer expansion “provides visual interest while remaining compatible with the existing structure and adjacent storefronts.”
The bright, white color palettes of the new buildings contrast with the black facade design of the recently delayed Rockin’ Avenue bar at 73730 El Paseo. Planning Commissioner John Collum said at the time the exterior or the proposed bar would not “activate” the corridor in the way that is expected of El Paseo business owners.
“It doesn’t make me feel like I even want to walk inside it,” said of a different bar on El Paseo, which he likened to Rockin’ Avenue’s outer presentation.