By H. Simmons –
The smallest incorporated community in the CV is Indian Wells. It is just over 14 square miles and has 5,000 households. Approximately 2,000 of the residents reside in the town year-round and the population swells to 9,000 in season. Located between Palm Desert and La Quinta, on both side of highway 111, Indian Wells is a beautifully landscaped and well-manicured city that provides a resort lifestyle.
The community is mostly made up of country clubs. There is The Vintage, The Reserve, El Dorado, Toscana, Desert Horizons and Indian Wells Country Clubs. The median age is 65 and the average annual income is $145,000. A few of the older established communities remain ungated. There are two affordable housing developments, the Mountain View Villas and the Indian Wells’ Villas.
It is a town small enough to have property owner identification cards. The optional ID card allows residents exclusive access to discounts on green fees plus 20 percent off on food and merchandise at the Indian Wells Golf Resort. The discounts apply at the local hotels and some businesses as well.
Mary Roche is the current acting Mayor. She was first elected to City Council in 2000 and served until 2008. She was elected again in 2010 and has served as Mayor in 2004, 2008. “The citizens of Indian Wells have worked hard and achieved success,” said Roche. “ They choose to live here and they are contributing, caring and productive people.”
Mayor Roche points to the generous contributions of Indian Wells residents who have donated millions to valley organizations. Citizens donated $5 million to California State University, San Bernardino and the Eisenhower Medical Center. According to Roche, the residents have contributed to the building of many of the important and essential valley projects.
More than half the city limits is rugged land in the Santa Rosa Mountains. The city has no intention of development in the mountains. The Living Desert Zoo and Botanical Gardens property is 75 percent Indian Wells’ land. Though some of the country clubs still have development space, the city is essentially built to capacity.
There is a small commercial business district in the community. But Indian Wells biggest industry is their four major hotels: The Hyatt Regency, the Renaissance Esmeralda Resort and Spa, Indian Wells Resort Hotel and the Miramonte Resort and Spa. Together there are 1,460 rooms. These hotels provide the majority of the city’s tax revenue.
Chamber of Commerce Account Executive, Michael Avila, was unavailable for an interview. Avila was busy with the second annual Health and Wellness Event, Feeding the Dream, benefiting the Healthy Family Foundation, a division of the John F. Kennedy Memorial Foundation. The two-day event was held last weekend. Financial institutions and attorneys dominate the Chamber’s membership directory.
A great valley experience in Indian Wells is the Desert Town Hall Speaker Series. This nonprofit educational corporation hosts world-renowned speakers at the Renaissance Esmeralda.
In its 21st season, Desert Town Hall is a preeminent speaker event attracting the world’s most influential and prominent names to the city. Brian Harnik is the President of the Board. “We look for speakers with relevance, significance and importance,” said Harnik. “We want the evening to be riveting for the audience.” Past speakers have been President George W. Bush, the Cheneys, Pervez Musharraf, Margaret Thatcher, Dr. Andrew Weil, Malcolm Gladwell, to name only a few.
Part of the focus for Desert Town Hall is the Youth Ambassador Program. Sixteen area high schools participate, giving a total of 600 valley students the opportunity to partake in the event. There are 150 plus kids at each session who enjoy a private reception with the speaker where they can ask questions and contribute in discussions with their peers.
Becky Kurtz is the Desert Town Hall Interim Executive Director. “The speakers often say that Youth Town Hall is the best part of the evening for them. They love interacting with the kids. The students’ questions are always interesting and challenging,”
The Desert Town Hall makes an evening of the event. It begins at 5:00 and ends after nine. There is a reception with students, cocktails, a dinner, and time for questions and answers. This makes the Indian Wells event unique to other speaker events whose guest typically only lecture.
So far this year Sanjay Gupta, neurosurgeon, author and Chief Medical Correspondent for CNN spoke, as did Tina Brown, the renowned editor, author and founder of TheDailyBeast.com. Next week, March 7, Jeb Bush, Florida’s former governor and youngest son of George H. Bush will speak. Four-Star General Stanley McChrystal will take the podium March 28. McChrystal is former Commander of the U.S. and International Forces in Afghanistan and former leader of the Joints Special Operations Command.
The nonprofit foundation operates with a small staff of four and everyone else, including the Board of Directors, are all volunteers. The foundation is supported by corporate, private and city sponsorships. The Speaker Series certainly adds to the Indian Wells brand and is a fantastic signature event.
The Indian Wells Tennis Garden is home to the BNP Paribas Open, which begins this week, March 4, and runs through March 17. The BNP is the fifth largest tennis tournament in the world! Over 370,000 attended last year. Privately owned by Larry Ellison, the co-founder and CEO of Oracle Corporation, the stadium is in the city limits. Indian Wells purchased the naming rights at $2.5 million for the next ten years.
Built in 2000 at a cost of $77 million, the main court seats 16,100 making it the second largest in the world. There are 11 match courts, six practice courts and two clay courts on 88 acres. The stadium has also served as a concert venue. So far, The Eagles, The Who, Tom Petty and Andrea Bocelli have been featured in the beautiful outdoor stadium. The NBA has played three pre-season exhibition games there as well.
Last week, the city council approved the Indian Wells Tennis Garden Expansion. The $70 million project will start the day after the tournament ends, and is expected to be completed in ten months. The grounds will include a new 8,000-seat stadium, parking and dining. It is a world class facility certain to provide the CV with great entertainment.
The city of Indian Wells has been a part of the valley since the 1800s. A Cahullia hand-dug well provided respite and water for stagecoach travelers. Today the city is a sanctuary for those who have worked hard to enjoy a resort-style retirement. Mayor Roche has a favorite Latin phrase: multum in parvo. The saying translates: “Much in Little.” It is an accurate description for this small town, which plays such a big part in our desert culture.
