Palm Desert Country Club Association To Celebrate 50th Anniversary

Financers of what would become the Palm Desert Country Club initially declared a proposed housing development on acres of barren desert was “too remote and too risky.’’

Today, the PDCC boasts 1,051 homes in its homeowners association and another 800 homes within the original 550 acres.

The Palm Desert Country Club Association will ring in its 50th anniversary with a celebration Saturday, Feb. 26 from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.

The event was organized by PDCCA Board Director Bob Gonia, who spent several months interviewing current and former residents, compiling archived materials and researching the development’s history.

The celebration will feature several people at the center of the association’s history, including developer Dick Oliphant, Palm Desert Mayor Jean Benson, retired Assistant City Manager Shelia Gilligan and retired Riverside County Supervisor Corky Larson.

The longest standing homeowner and several fourth generation residents will also take part.

The development – initially known as Palm City – was the first retirement community in California and the second in the nation in 1961, according to Gonia.

A single-family home with three bedrooms and two bathrooms on a 6,000 square foot lot sold far about $12,900, making the mortgage about $100 a month.

“The community was considered state of the art and homes included the very first plastic tub and shower enclosures, fiberglass drapes and roofing shingles along with all electric kitchens,’’ Gonia said.

The Glorious 60s

The entrance to the development on Avenue of the States originally had a rock wall entrance with a water fountain. Flags of each state lined the street. The fountain was torn down in 1995 and replaced with an obelisk.

The PDCCA enjoyed its heyday in the 1960s, when residents organized several events and boasted a strong sense of community.

“It was reported that there were more than 28 clubs or activities happening at any one time in our formative years as a community,’’ he said.

In 1964, the area saw a decline in retirement home sales and the community was opened up to families of all ages, Gonia said. That was when the HOA’s name was changed from Palm City to the Palm Desert Country Club Association.

In 1962, more than 500 residents lived in the community, which received its first church, the first three holes of the 18-hole golf course and an additional association swimming pool. Palm City was referred to as "The Miracle of the Desert,'' according to Gonia.

Rich and Lu Bowers were members of the Motohome Club, which included about a dozen couples. The group traveled together three times a year.

Trying Times

During his interviews, Gonia met up with Charlie and Beth Ash, who bought a home at PDCC in 1985 and have been full-time residents since 1992. Charlie Ash was on the association board for 15 years.

Ash told Gonia the association fell on hard times in the mid 1990s when residents voted to have the association building to be taken over by the city with the intention to disband the HOA.

The property was appraised at $835,000 and the community voted to sell for much less, $435,000.

However, city leaders proposed PDCC donate the land to the city, which was opposed by one of the original developers. Also, the HOA could not be dissolved without 100 percent approval from residents, so the proposal was shelved.

In 1994, the PDCCA was classified as a redevelopment community because several homes became blighted and fell into disrepair.

The golf course, which is a separate entity from the association, closed in mid-2009 when the owners declared bankruptcy. Wilshire State Bank bought the golf course and clubhouse for $1.87 million during a trustee sale in January, according to the city.

Read more about the association’s history at its website.