In southern California and the Agua Caliente Band of Cahuilla Indians has reportedly taken another step forward in its plan to open a large casino resort in the Riverside County community of Cathedral City.

According to a Tuesday report from The Desert Sun newspaper, the federally-recognized tribe is already responsible for the western state’s Agua Caliente Casino Palm Springs as well as the nearby Agua Caliente Resort Casino Spa Rancho Mirage and wants to build and run its third such facility on a 13-acre parcel of off-reservation land along California State Route 111 near the center of the Palm Springs suburb.

County commitment:

The newspaper reported that the Agua Caliente Band of Cahuilla Indians ended last month by agreeing a required host accord with Cathedral City and has now followed up by inking an intergovernmental deal with county officials that will see it pay some $125,000 over the course of the next twelve months to help fund local substance abuse, gambling addiction and mental health programs.

The Desert Sun reported that the latest arrangement with the five-member Riverside County Board of Supervisors was unanimously approved yesterday evening and mandates that the amount of any future payments is to be set only after the California tribe’s envisioned Cathedral City facility opens.

Latest stride:

Jeff Grubbe, Chairman for the Agua Caliente Band of Cahuilla Indians, reportedly declared that the latest agreement ‘gets us another step closer to being able to realize this project in Cathedral City’ but that there remains ‘a few more steps’ to resolve before the tribe can announce an official ground-breaking date.

Profuse property:

Citing an earlier draft environmental statement, The Desert Sun reported that the as yet unnamed Cathedral City casino resort is due to be home to approximately 500 Class III gaming machines as well as eight gaming tables. It detailed that the envisioned around-the-clock facility will moreover be designed to feature multiple restaurants and bars alongside retail and tribal office spaces in hopes of being able to provide employment for up to 556 locals.

Grubbe reportedly told The Desert Sun…

“This is about making a large-scale investment in Cathedral City. The future development will create jobs, revitalize an undeveloped downtown property and support Cathedral City’s economic development efforts.”