Palm Desert commission approves DSRT SURF villa redesigns, Restoration Hardware to open third El Paseo store

Restoration Hardware received design approval Tuesday to open a third location on El Paseo, as the Palm Desert Architectural Review Commission also cleared revised villa designs for the DSRT SURF resort development at Desert Willow Golf Resort.

The new Restoration Hardware location, proposed for 73190 El Paseo, would convert the former Elena Bulatova art gallery into a 6,340-square-foot retail building.

The project would give the brand three distinct storefronts on El Paseo, each focused on a different product line. Owen Merrick, the applicant on behalf of RH, told commissioners how the newest location fits within the cluster.

“This is going to be the outdoor store, so this will be focused specifically on outdoor furniture,” Merrick said. “The intent is very much to match the one a couple doors down, but it will be a different product line.”

The commission voted 4-0 to approve the Restoration Hardware design review.

In the meeting’s second item, commissioners approved revised architectural plans for 33 residential villas at the DSRT Surf development, a mixed-use resort project the City Council first approved in November 2019.

The revisions — covering roof configurations, window placement, wall plane articulation, and railing materials — were brought back to the commission after city staff identified changes during plan check review that went beyond what staff could approve as substantial conformance.

The project architect told commissioners the revisions were driven by adjustments made inside the units.

“The changes have been very minor,” John Luff, developer and co-owner of DSRT Surf said. “A lot of the changes occurred inside the homes, which doesn’t necessarily concern probably what you guys are looking at, and that was the reason why some of the windows configurations change is because the spaces and the rooms changed.”

Commission Chair James McIntosh, who disclosed that he and the vice chair had met with the applicant on May 18 in an informational session, said seeing the villas rendered together made a favorable impression.

“Feels like I’m at the beach,” McIntosh said. “When they’re all together like that, it’s a nice little composition of buildings. I think it’s really successful.”

McIntosh also noted a milestone in the project’s construction.

“It’s pretty exciting that there’s actually water in the lagoon,” he said.

The commission voted 4-0 to approve the villa revisions, with a condition requiring all exterior building materials, colors, and finishes to conform to the approved materials board on file. Any proposed deviation would require additional ARC review.