A Vegas company is dropping plans for a luxury resort near Joshua Tree National Park

A Las Vegas-based travel group has abandoned plans to build a luxury eco-resort less than a mile outside Joshua Tree National Park.

The project, planned for 152 acres of undeveloped creosote scrub in the Indian Cove area of ​​Twentynine Palms, drew a lawsuit from neighbors and conservationists who say the city failed to adequately assess and mitigate potential environmental damage when approving the plans last year.

But representatives of Ofland Hotels did not mention the case as a reason to leave the project. Instead, they said market and financial conditions have changed, making the plans impossible, according to a letter sent by Ofland's attorney to the city of Twentynine Palms last week. The project also fell out of favor with the prospective buyer, who did not respond to Ofland's repeated requests for expansion, the letter said.

In a press release on Thursday, Ofland Hotels said “softening market demand” had led to its decline. “As a company, we have to adapt to the shifts in the industry,” said Luke Searcy, head of development, in the release. “Finally, current market conditions did not justify the level of investment required for the project to move forward.”

The company plans to shift its focus and resources to a resort planned near the Great Smoky Mountains National Park in Tennessee that was greenlit in 2024 and a second project near Zion National Park in Utah, details of which will be announced later this year, the release said. The company also operates an outdoor boutique hotel in Escalante, Utah.

“This is a real loss for the community,” said Stone James, Twentynine Palms city manager. The resort would bring in $500,000 to $800,000 in annual tax revenue, support 40 full-time jobs and help build the city's reputation as a destination for outdoor recreationists, he said.

“Although this project is not going forward due to the economic situation, it is sad to see a few wealthy landowners opposing the economic opportunity and prosperity that this tourism program focused on environmental conservation would provide the city,” he wrote in an email.

Plans call for 100 small cabins, two lodges, multiple pools, a stargazing area and an outdoor movie screen, and a wastewater treatment plant planned to process more than 13,000 gallons a day.

Some neighbors greeted the news of the project's demise with relief, saying the property – a residential area with a patchwork of undeveloped land – was not worth trading for.

Indian Cove is home to a close-knit community, and an important wildlife corridor that allows animals to travel between the national park and other wildlife areas, said artist Cindy Bernard, founder of the community group Indian Cove Neighbors. “Having a resort in the middle of all that would be dangerous,” he said.

Bernard lives near the project site and has documented many desert tortoises in and around his property – including Squiggles, who was nicknamed for leaving squiggly tracks in the sand.

However, a survey of the area by the developers did not find the turtles, which are listed as endangered by the state of California. The study did not follow the US Fish and Wildlife Service's standard procedures for identifying turtles and instead used less stringent procedures, said Evan Levy, an attorney for the Center for Biological Diversity.

The environmental nonprofit, along with Indian Cove Neighbors, sued Twentynine Palms in August over its approval of the project. The city accepted what is known as a reduced adverse declaration, which is shorter and less detailed than a full environmental impact report.

The lawsuit alleged that the announcement did not provide enough information to understand the impact of the project, and that the city ignored evidence that those impacts would be significant.

The project site, located less than half a mile from the national park boundary, may support at least 10 species of plants and 17 animals that are listed as endangered or threatened or recognized as species of concern, including the loggerhead, eagles and burrowing owls, the lawsuit said.

The parties agreed to stay the legal challenge for 90 days so the developer can work with the city to secure a reduced adverse declaration and revoke the project's rights, including general plan amendments, zoning changes and development code amendments, Levy said.