Defunct Indio Mall redevelopment advances as Planning Commission approves three new drive-through sites

With Phase 1 of the mall redevelopment already under construction along Highway 111, the Haagen Company was back before the Indio Planning Commission to advance plans for Phase 2.

The Indio Planning Commission on Wednesday unanimously recommended approval of the second phase of the Grand Marketplace redevelopment, clearing the way for three commercial buildings on the shopping center’s Highway 111 frontage.

The project, brought forward by the Haagen Company, includes two quick-service restaurants and one financial institution, each with a drive-through, totaling about 10,290 square feet at the southwest corner of Highway 111 and Rubidoux Street. The recommendation now goes to the City Council for final approval.

“We want to turn blight into bright,” Tarek Shaer of the Urbanest Group, representing the Haagen Company told the commission on Wednesday. “We really want to attract the best-in-class tenants with a diverse mix of merchants to serve the community with everyday needs, and also to be able to create a destination that attracts customers on a regular basis.”

Haagen Company CEO Alexander Haagen III spoke at the meeting about the long road of redevelopment for the mall, and said that when they bought the property more than eight years ago, the previous owners, “put no money into it.”

“The restrooms didn’t work, the lights were out, it was a disaster,” he said. “We’ve carried this on our back and kept trying to put things together for a long period of time. We want to see it get done but in a very spectacular way.”

Haagen said he couldn’t divulge the businesses that might be coming to the future phases of the property, “We have to keep it under our hat, but some very exciting uses that would really, not only help everything on the Highway 111 corridor, but even downtown.”

The approval resolves a dispute over a condition requiring preservation of a dozen mature palm trees along the Highway 111 frontage. The developer’s representative asked the city to loosen the requirement, saying the trees are nearing the end of their life cycle and pose a safety risk in high winds.

Nine of the original palm trees along the frontage were removed during construction of the shopping center’s first phase after utility conduit work made preservation impossible, leaving 12 trees standing. The city attorney proposed revised language allowing the community development director, rather than the commission, to approve removal or relocation of the remaining trees.

“Because we’ve removed nine, almost half. It’s going to change the whole front look of that mall,” Chair Gloria Franz said, explaining her reasoning. “I really want to see consistency along that section, and mature palms, not baby palms, be lined so that they look beautiful on day one.”