Could Yakima ever be the palm springs of Washington? (Seattle: real estate market, how much)

[DevanXL]

Lets think alittle creatively for a moment. Could Yakima ever resemble Palm Springs? How much Development would it take to change the social stigma. How much money would it take to revive the city?

[mkarch]

First, a large number of celebrities will need to start building vacation homes there.

[DevanXL]

Originally Posted by mkarch

First, a large number of celebrities will need to start building vacation homes there.

Hey, if someone could convince then that they can build a mansion on the cheap and visit I nice community it could happen. No one would give up their palm spring estates for Yakima though.

[Hemlock140]

Not hardly. Palm springs has hot, mostly dry weather all year, and is not far from Los Angeles/Hollywood. More likely, farms will be sold for development
of small, cheap homes and assisted living facilities for retirees from Seattle.

[509]

I don't think Yakima has a social stigma and its not money that's needed to revive the city.

I have been around the area since 1980 and the city and county have tried real hard to deal with their problems. However, they have never received support from the state government. In fact, several of the Governors, have been openly hostile towards Yakima.

In the late 1980's I thought they had turned the corner and their wine industry would soon change the character of the entire valley. Unfortunately, that glimmer of hope ended up in Walla Walla. In the future, I suspect the Napa Valley will have a sign saying they are the Walla Walla of California!!

Most folks do not realize the extent of the illegal immigration and its impact on the Yakima Valley. I talked to the Yakima County Sheriff at several meetings. We were both on a government advisory board.

He pointed out that this migration of folks and the associated gangs is nothing new. Like before, the migrants are grateful for ANY opportunity and problems are really few. However, they then have kids and it is the first and second generation AMERICANS that join the gangs and cause the problems. Sort of like the Italians on the east coast at the turn of the century.

So he expected the problems to become less over time. Unfortunately, the Federal government has never shown any interest in securing the border. So Yakima keeps getting new migrants and new generations of American gang members linked to the Mexican gangs. So the problem keeps getting worse and worse.

So the answer to your question is simple. Yakima will start changing and eliminating the "stigma" 20 years or so after the border is secure. The gang issue will become less and less of problem over time. However, if the new flow of immigrants is maintained at today's high levels......well, every kid born to Mexican parents is a potential recruit and the problems will continue into the future.

Yakima is a gateway town. That is not going to change until the border is secured.

[j_k_k]

I don't see it becoming the Palm Springs of anything. However, if it keeps growing, it might aspire to be the Bakersfield of Washington. Doubling in size should about cover it.

Of course, that would raise the question as to why any place would want to be the Bakersfield of anything. But you never know.

[poopskooper]

Originally Posted by j_k_k

I don't see it becoming the Palm Springs of anything. However, if it keeps growing, it might aspire to be the Bakersfield of Washington. Doubling in size should about cover it.

Of course, that would raise the question as to why any place would want to be the Bakersfield of anything. But you never know.

Hah! I agree. Yakima does remind me of a smaller Bakersfield too.

From what I've heard, and this is just hearsay from RV folks I've talk with, the slogan "The Palm Springs of Washington" was put up by the now defunct Trail Wagons RV manufacturer as sort of a joking prod to RVers to use Yakima as a reverse snowbird destination since many RVers use Palm Springs as a place to get away in the winter ...and also to coax those from the "coast" (a term used to describe those on the other side of the mountains) to come to Yakima to get away from the rain. I understand that the sign was actually put up during the state's centennial celebration and was modified later to read "The Palm Springs of Washington."

The Trail Wagons folks never meant it to mean that Yakima would ever be a resort destination. Perahaps they hoped it would be but being realistic, they knew that nothing in Yakima could attract the throngs of rich investors necessary to build the area into a resort destination comparable to Palm Springs.

I think climate is the primary reason, as has been mentioned, is why Yakima will never really be anything similar to Palm Springs.

There's a small town in Nevada called Mesquite which is about 90 miles northeast of Las Vegas that during the boom times in the real estate market, the Realtor association there billed that town as the "Palm Springs of Nevada." Many actually thought that Mesquite could become similar to Palm Springs.

Unlike Yakima, Mesquite had the underpinnings of being a true resort destination. It had four or five medium sized casinos that attracted fairly big name entertainment as the town is close to St George Utah. Mesquite has just under a dozen golf courses, many of which are highly rated courses. That's a large number of golf courses for such a small town. And Mesquite has a mild winter climate. Not quite as warm as Palm Springs but close and still a snowbird destination.

Mesquite's billing as a Palm Springs was much more serious and believable than Yakima ever becoming such a haven for entertainment and recreational activities associated with destinations considered to have great weather.

So maybe wealthy retirees who live in the desert southwest might want to escape the heat of places like Palm Springs in the summer? They'd probably choose a place along the Oregon or Washington coast rather than Yakima ...if they even want to leave at all. I know plenty of retirees that don't mind the 112 degree days in Palm Springs in the summer.

So, nah ...I agree. Yakima ain't ever gonna be a Palm Springs.

[tablemtn]

My impression is that the Tri-Cities are much closer to being the "Palm Springs" of eastern Washington than Yakima. Yakima does have some similarities to Bakersfield, but it might be even closer to Fresno - which, like Yakima, is in the middle of a whole lot of farms.

[j_k_k]

Originally Posted by tablemtn

My impression is that the Tri-Cities are much closer to being the "Palm Springs" of eastern Washington than Yakima. Yakima does have some similarities to Bakersfield, but it might be even closer to Fresno - which, like Yakima, is in the middle of a whole lot of farms.

We should try for that here in the Dry Cities. We have plenty of radiation leaking out of tanks at Hanford, and surely some of it would be beneficial in spas and for health purposes. For example, put vegetables near it, so that all microorganisms are killed...safer eating!

[Count David]

IMO Yakima is more like the Modesto of Washington.

In order to be Palm Springs, it would need
-blazing hot weather 9 months a year
-casinos
-vacant vacation homes
-almost no precipitation
-Native Americans
-a thriving gay population
-a bunch more old people and snowbirds
-more golf courses
-high-end boutiques

I too, think the Tri-Cities have more potential in this regard.