Luxurious and progressive, the City of Rancho Mirage — which last year celebrated its 50th anniversary — is a tranquil place to live, work, and visit. With its world-class resorts and spas and distinctive amenities, this winsome locale appeals not.
No Mousing on Housing
A fresh diversification of single-family homes, condos, townhouses, and apartments in development is creating exciting new dynamics for homebuyers in Rancho Mirage.
The highly anticipated Cotino development, the first-ever Storyliving by Disney community, stretches over 618 acres off Gerald Ford Drive and will include up to 1,932 homes, with its first residents expected to take occupancy in 2025.
When realized in full, the residential development with its 24-acre Cotino Bay grand lagoon will prove a mid-valley centerpiece with mountain backdrops, white sand beaches, and tranquil turquoise waters. Pairing beauty with responsibility, the lagoon’s patented Crystal Lagoons technology to maintain water quality and help control evaporation as well as an efficient filtration system that requires a mere 2 percent of the energy employed by conventional pool filtering systems. Cotino residents and guests can expect the big reveal in 2026.
Catana’s first phase will open with 210 single-family homes and a clubhouse with a pool. Phase two will add 94 affordable apartments.
Along with the swims and sands, Disney’s signature hospitality will guide Cotino’s community and luxury resort, along with multiple parks, a member-centric Artisan Club, and a bustling Town Center shopping, dining, and arts district.
The city is embarking on one of its most business-friendly initiatives in years, prioritizing workforce and affordable housing. The city has disposition and development agreements in place and has approved the Via Vail Apartments and Catana projects for a total of 844 planned affordable housing units. Via Vail, with 234 affordable units in 15 two-story buildings, will help accommodate the growing number of hospital and hotel employees working in Rancho Mirage. Located on 10 acres near Dinah Shore Drive, and immediately east of the Rancho Mirage Dog Park, the development is expected to open in 2027.
Catana, unfolding in three phases on 36 acres near Rancho Mirage High School, will open with 210 single-family homes as well as a clubhouse and amenities. The second phase calls for 94 apartments available to people earning between 30 and 80 percent of local median income levels; the apartment complex will include a recreation area. Phase three, bordering Ramon Road, was permitted for up to 75,000 square feet of retail, dining, and office space.
MAYOR: Steve Downs
MAYOR PRO TEM: Ted Well
COUNCIL MEMBERS: Meg Marker, Lynn Mallotto, Michael O’Keefe
YEAR INCORPORATED: 1973
Catana pool.
A Destination for Luxury and Adventure
Hospitality has always been the name of the game in Rancho Mirage, and the city is laser focused on presenting best-in-class experiences for visitors.
“In a market that relies heavily on hospitality and tourism, we’re always looking ahead to make sure that what we’re offering is sustainable, that the experiences are new, and that the amenities are fresh,” says Gabe Codding, the city’s Director of Marketing. “The fact that all these projects and reinvestments are happening at the same time is just fantastic.”
The opening of the ultra-exclusive, six-star wellness and golf resort Sensei Porcupine Creek in 2022 proved the harbinger significant upgrades at resort properties across the city.
The Ritz-Carlton, Rancho Mirage, celebrating 10 years since its reopening, has remasteed all existing rooms and plans to expand with 100 new condo hotel units ranging in size from one to three bedrooms, 6,200 square feet of restaurant space, and almost 24,000 square feet of event and meeting space.
“These enhancements underscore our unwavering commitment to delivering unmatched luxury and service in the heart of Rancho Mirage,” says Shannon Gilbert, general manager of The Ritz-Carlton, Rancho Mirage.
Via Vail’s 234 affordable units will accommodate people who work in the city.
Meanwhile, Westin Rancho Mirage Golf Resort & Spa invested $15 million in renovating its guest rooms and meeting spaces and continues its makeover with a refresh of its signature Pinzimini restaurant, including a reimagining of the menu toward coast-inspired flavors.
Likewise, the nearby Omni Rancho Las Palmas Resort & Spa is giving its popular bluEmber restaurant an innovative new spin.
Across the street from the Omni, The River at Rancho Mirage is enjoying a renaissance. In 2023, Dave & Buster opened with its fun-loving bounty of games, food, and drinks. This fall, the shopping, dining, and entertainment destination welcomes REI, the top-brand outdoor gear and clothing retailer. The 25,000-square-foot space caters to the active set prone to hiking, cycling, and camping around the Coachella Valley and the High Desert and propels the city’s reputation as a destination for open-air adventures.
Meanwhile, the Children’s Discovery Museum of the Desert, which had closed in 2020 due to the pandemic, reopened last spring with a $3 million refresh featuring 40 new interactive exhibits. The museum, which welcomes children 0 to 8 years old of all abilities to “imagine, express, move, experiment, explore, and dream,” now includes the Hedge Theatre, where guests can dress in costumes and perform on stage; a scarf-blower, where they can manipulate air to blast colorful scarves up 13-foot-high pneumatic tubes; a climbing net; a whimsical garden area; and an 800-square-foot outdoor sandbox. The upstairs Dream space offers tactile “mountain” experiences such as fishing and camping.
city stats
Population
17,445
Median Age
67.4
Annual Growth Rate
0.32%
Bachelor’s & Graduate/Professional Degree
50.62%
Average Household Income
$167,996
Median Net Worth
$1,021,868
Average Disposable Income
$110,540
Total Housing Units
14,901
Average Home Value
$842,208
Diversity Index
55.4
Public Schools
2
Public Parks
5
Source:
Esri/Coachella Valley
Economic Partnership
The museum has also been certified as an autism center. Exhibits have sensory guides for guests, and the entire staff has sensory-sensitivity training. A sensory room serves as a calming space where children who are feeling overwhelmed can find comfort.
The next phase of the museum’s makeover will cater to children older than 8 and focus on STEAM-based stations, such as 3-D printing, life skills, and public speaking, to help middle and high school students discover hobbies and potential career pathways.
The fresh and fun new look of the Children’s Discovery Museum of the Desert.
Nexus of Health Investment
World-class healthcare has its own campus in Rancho Mirage with the sprawling Eisenhower Health realizing its $256 million capital campaign to support the hospital’s major expansion. A trio of groundbreaking ceremonies in early 2024 stirred excitement for the new Eisenhower Child Care Center, Saul and Joyce Brandman Memory Care Center, and 128,620-square-foot Washington Family Center, which will include specialty clinics, a cardiovascular outpatient center, and dedicated facilities focused on mental and behavioral health.
The 20,000-square-foot memory care center and the 17,000-square-foot childcare center are expected to open by November 2025, followed by the Washington Family Center’s Cardiovascular Institute in April 2026.
A Sustainable Future
A local leader in energy efficiency and conservation, the City of Rancho Mirage makes sustainability a top priority.
The city offered its residents the Coachella Valley’s first opportunity to opt in to renewable energy sources through the Rancho Mirage Energy Authority. (Homeowners can go 100 percent renewable if they so choose.) The city was also first in the valley with a deputy of sustainability, the freshly minted title of Jessica Pulliam, who took the position last spring.
The city’s Turf Rebate Program saw the removal of more than 1.7 million square feet of turf, resulting in savings of more than 100 million gallons of water annually.
With so many investments and initiatives aimed at enhancing the resident, visitor, and business owner experience in the city, it’s easy to see why Rancho Mirage continues to be a favored destination of newcomers to the desert communities.
