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Today’s pool buyer wants more than a concrete-lined hole filled with water. “People want water features and stacked stone, floating spas, reef steps, and infinity edges,” says Gary Minor, vice president of operations for California Pools. “Pools really have to be custom today.” He should know. His company has built 60,000 pools nationally and about 6,000 pools in the Coachella Valley since opening here 20 years ago.

Last month, California Pools opened a 1,500-square-foot showroom in a shopping center at Highway 111 and Washington Street. Here, customers can view photos of completed projects, see and touch material samples (as well as barbecues), and take a hands-on approach to designing a pool to fit their wants and needs.

“When we first came to Palm Springs, all we did was retail pools,” Minor says. “As building increased about 10 to 12 years ago, we were getting so many calls from builders to include [pools] as an option, that the builders … sucked up 110, 115 percent of our time. The last seven years, all we have done is swimming pools for the home builders. We only met with the pool buyer through the home builder.”

Minor estimates that about 5,000 pools a year are built directly for the consumer, and the design center taps into that market. One local customer wanted a “floating fire pit” (the fire pit sits in the center of the pool). But the most unusual request came from San Bernardino.

“We were asked to do a wolf habitat pool,” Minor says. The $240,000 project included caves, grottos, misters, waterfalls, and large reef steps on which the wolves can relax.

— JK