What was once a pass-through city between Palm Springs and Palm Desert is now the destination.

And the statistics prove it.

“If we talk about size, in 2000, we had approximately 43,000 people living here,” Cathedral City Chief Building Official Gil Estrada said. “In 2020, the census showed that we had about 55,000 people here. So, it grew considerably in those 20 years.”

But it’s not just the population.

Of the nearly 3,000 building permits issued, 125 were for family homes, two for commercial buildings, 920 for solar permits and even a new, 60-unit Veterans Village Project, providing housing for those who have served and includes onsite services to help support this community.

And that’s not all.

“They began to do a lot of alterations to their homes, additions, putting in swimming pools, doing patio covers, remodels, all of that kind of work,” Estrada continued. “We’ve also had some other different developments going on. You might have seen a new Habit that was just completed recently. We have a Denny’s that’s been built on Vista Chino and Landau. We have a Quack Quack Car Wash that was just completed there.”

And another successful business in Cathedral City that opened in August 2022: Luchador Brewing Company.

“As soon as I spent a little time in Cathedral City, I really realized that this area needed something like this,” Luchador Brewing Company Co-Owner Brent Miller shared. “When we found this particular location, it was kind of a no brainer, right here off Highway 111. The size of the space, it laid out perfectly to be able to brew here on premise and it had the existing kitchen. So I mean, Cathedral City just became like we’re in the middle of everything.”

But the city’s work isn’t done.

“This is a good place to build,” Estrada explained. “We do have a lot of land still to build on. We’ve annexed additional areas. I think developers find this as a good place to build. We’re more affordable. I believe it’s going to attract more people to come and live here, work here and enjoy their time here.”

Cathedral City officials plan to review all of these projects and future development in their State of the City on Tuesday.

If you’d like to attend, the event is from 11 a.m. to 2 pm. at the DoubleTree by Hilton Golf Resort.

Cathedral City Hits Record for Building Permits in 2022