Palm Desert shifts retail recruitment in-house after coach contract; staff outlines Q1—Q3 strategy

Palm Desert officials said the city will stop using an external retail coach and instead manage retail recruitment in-house while rolling out a three-quarter strategy to boost leasing and attract new tenants.

Vanessa Maker, economic development coordinator, told Mayor Truby and the council the city contracted a retail coach in November 2023 for market analysis and event representation, but "the economic development department has chosen not to renew the contract and will transition retail recruitment efforts in-house, leveraging and expanding the city staff capacity that we have and the relationships that we currently possess with our business owners and local brokers." Maker said converting interest to executed leases proved challenging under the contract.

The update highlighted recent and near-term openings: "Biera Sinaloa is now open" (opened in late December) and Winston Pies is "scheduled to open at the end of this month," Maker said. Staff also presented comparative retail-vacancy context for Palm Desert, the Coachella Valley, El Paseo and Riverside County, noting El Paseo's vacancy rate is below area averages; specific vacancy figures were not provided in the presentation.

Jill Mendoza, economic development manager, outlined three priorities to strengthen retail recruitment: create parcel-level data to prioritize sites and speed responses to prospects; strengthen Palm Desert's economic-development branding and marketing; and improve the experience for businesses and investors to make openings and expansions easier. Mendoza described a Q1 focus on acquiring recruitment tools and branding support, Q2 work to update marketing materials and prepare for the ICSC retail conference in May, and a Q3 branding campaign and targeted outreach to site selectors and brokers.

Council member Karina asked for vacancy data for the San Pablo corridor and raised absentee-ownership concerns. Mendoza said San Pablo vacancy information will be provided at a later time and explained that absentee owners often "aren't on-site" and may not prioritize leasing, creating a challenge for activation. On infrastructure and code-compliance costs, Mendoza said renovation costs can be prohibitive for some prospects and remain a material consideration when evaluating older properties.

Mendoza and council members discussed storytelling and entertainment-focused opportunities to broaden the city's retail mix. Mendoza said she would attend an entertainment conference in Los Angeles and pursue prospects with entertainment components; she also cited recent successful tenants (Chartwell, Vuori) as examples that can help attract further retail investment.

Mendoza said staff will evaluate existing programs, including the facade improvement program, and return with program data and recommendations. The study session concluded with no formal motions or votes recorded; staff will proceed with the Q1—Q3 timeline and report back to the council as work progresses.