It’s no exaggeration to say the announcement of a new neighborhood of 95 single-family midcentury-inspired homes—the largest such community to built in the Valley since the 1960s—is a pretty big deal.
Even more interesting is that the Vista Palms development is not being built in the midcentury-modern hotbed of Palm Springs, but in Desert Hot Springs.
The community is being rolled out in phases over the next three years or so depending on how quickly the houses sell. There are currently five homes plus a model under construction, the first of 18 houses that will be built in Phase One.
The Cosmo, elevation 1B.
“The expected completion date for the first five [homes] is late August or early September,” says Bryan Schopp, a realtor with Keller Williams. “The first five are available for early sales to allow buyers to make finish choices, as well as to make any upgrades they choose to do.”
Vista Palms is being developed by homebuilder Chris Canaday of CT Properties.
“I first met Chris back in 2004 or 2005 when I was a mortgage broker and we stayed in touch over the years,” says Schopp. “Chris called me about a year and a half ago asking me how our market was doing [and] mentioned he had lots in Desert Hot Springs that were part of the Vista Hacienda Development that he started in 2004, and with the crash of the market stopped and had not completed in about 2006. The remaining lots are the premium ones of the development with a north/south orientation with terraced lots moving up the hill.”
The Cosmo, elevation 1C.
Schopp, who had briefly studied architecture back in the 1970s before going off in a different career direction, worked with Canaday on the plans and designs for the development. “I always loved design and architecture, [and] I remembered from my studies the concept of designing a home to fit the location and environment,” says Schopp.
Excited by the project, Schopp decided to draw up a floor plan which became The Cosmo, a 1,918-square-foot, three bedroom/three bathroom house.
The Manhattan floor plan features 2,054 square feet, three bedrooms, and two bathrooms. Like The Cosmo and The Martini homes, three elevations and three different color schemes will be available. Elevation 1A is shown here.
“All the homes will have a south-facing orientation with pool space on the south side,” adds Schopp. “This gives superb outdoor privacy as no two outdoor entertaining spaces are next to another, and the views are to the south and prevailing winds out of the west/northwest. The Cosmo maximizes all of this and gives a U-shaped protected entertaining space blocking the winds.”
Each of the three floor plans — known as The Cosmo, The Manhattan, and The Martini — has three elevations and each has three color schemes. (Schopp came up with the midcentury cocktail-inspired names.)
The Manhattan, elevation 1B.
The Manhattan is 2,054 square feet and has three bedrooms and two bathrooms, while The Martini has 2,108 square feet with three bedrooms and three bathrooms. According to Schopp, the lots sizes (from 9,100 to 19,000 square feet) will determine which house goes on which lot, and The Cosmo will have the greatest number of homes built.
The Cosmo homes start at $340,000 and The Manhattan at $345,000. Pricing for The Martini is still to be determined.
And now may be the time to think about buying while the builder is offering some incentives. “Currently the upgraded floor is offered at no extra charge,” says Schopp. “This is a $9,000 upgrade with five color choices of a 12-inch by 24-inch modern tile, and about 30 color choices of a cut, sculpted modern carpet.”
These options are currently scheduled for the first 18 homes, which all come with front landscaping and are fully fenced.
Elevation A of The Martini, a 2,108-square foot, three bedroom/three bathroom home.
“There are several upgrade options with cut-off dates as the construction continues,” notes Schopp. After certain stages of the development, some options can no longer be offered, such as folding panoramic doors to replace sliding doors in the great room and master bedroom, or an insulated garage. However, a buyer will still be able to go to the design center and choose different flooring, countertops, and many other options
“Vista Palms is a spectacular location that is very quiet, has fantastic views, and is only minutes away from downtown Palm Springs as well as other popular locations in the Valley,” says Schopp. “I believe that once the homes get closer to completion, and potential buyers can see what the homes will look and feel like, that we will not be able to build them fast enough.”
Elevation B of The Martini.
Bryan Schopp, Realtor, Keller Williams, 435 North Palm Canyon Drive, Palm Springs, 760-861-4404
Vista Palms, 13996 Avenida La Vista, Desert Hot Springs, 760-424-2003, VistaPalmsHomes.com
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