Listen here:
*Corrected to indicate project is east of Indian Cove neighborhood.
Representatives from the Yonder Hospitality group faced a tough crowd last night at the Twentynine Palms Elks Lodge as they presented their vision for a proposed small-cabin resort just off Highway 62 and Lear Avenue.
The Twentynine Palms Elks Lodge had a full house at last night’s community meeting to discuss a proposed resort east of the Indian Cove neighborhood. Luke Searcy, director of Acquisitions & Asset Management for Yonder Development, faced resistant residents who could not be won over in an evening.
Admitting that the company is “very early in a long process,” Searcy presented the Yonder vision for a “base camp” of 130 320-square-foot cabins spread out over 152 acres bordered by Highway 62, Lear Avenue, Sullivan Road, and Shoshone Valley Road.
When Searcy concluded his “low-intensity development” presentation, he directed residents to tables of Yonder reps who could address specific questions – environmental, hospitality, land-use and so on. Residents were reluctant to do so, wanting instead to pose their questions as a group.
Despite their efforts to be transparent and “try to get ahead of rumors,” Yonder faces pushback from a neighborhood weary of Airbnbs and other resort proposals. (A “Resort Developer Bingo” card was passed around, at one point.)
Notable concerns include increased traffic, water usage, and threats to wildlife. Nicole Sauviat Criste of Terra Nova Planning & Research, an outside firm secured by Yonder, spoke of environmental studies still to come on the project:
“There’s a federal and a state protocol for desert tortoise. We’re doing biological studies if there are desert tortoise on the property. Because of the buffer – 500 feet on the north, west and south, and 800 feet on the east – none of that will be disturbed,” said Criste. “If there are tortoise within the 50 acres of the 150 that is being developed, the first option is avoidance. Because the site plan is still so preliminary, part of what we’re doing the studies for is to make sure that we don’t impact – there’s a wash, for example, on the east side, we don’t to impact that. If there are burrows in the development area, we would probably look at altering the site plan to move away from it.”
Yonder reps stressed that the development would charge guests a “community fee” which would then be donated to a local non-profit aimed at environmental concerns. (Yonder estimated this amount to be approximately $150K annually.)
In addition to the cabins, the resort would include a main lodge (3,500-square feet), food/beverage area (2,000 square feet), secondary lodge (2,000 square feet), back-of-house space (6,000 square feet), employee housing (12,000 square feet), a stargazing area in the center, an outdoor movie screen, and two swimming pools. (All buildings will be single-story.) There would be a 500-foot “buffer” from the Indian Cove neighborhood and 100 acres of a 152-acre site would be left untouched and become a “conservation easement” meaning nothing could be built on the land should it change owners.
Noah Ellis, CEO of Yonder Management, spoke to the food/beverage concept, stating that it would be open to the public as well as guests.
“It’s not a sit-down restaurant. We look to just provide and scratch the itch for guests for breakfast and dinner. People tend to leave the property in the morning, recreate and come back in the evening. So we treat it like somewhere between a food truck and concession stand, in that, you walk up, you order, you receive your food, you sit down. It’s not three-meal, it’s not white tablecloth, it’s not room service,” said Ellis. Though the resort may sell packaged alcohol, if permitted, such as beer, wine, or cocktail kits, plans do not include an on-site bar.
Searcy stated that Yonder hopes to open the resort in 2026.
