Desert Technology Center Will Anchor Proposed Joshua Hills Master Planned Community.

PALM DESERT, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Nov. 9, 1999--

Plans for a new, three million-sq. ft. high-tech development called The Desert Technology Center were announced today at a community meeting in Sky Valley.

The new Center would be located on 500 acres north of Dillon Road adjacent to the Sky Valley community and is being designed as an integrated campus of office buildings.

The proposed Desert Technology Center would be the focal point of a larger 7,000-acre master planned community called Joshua Hills.

Eve E. Fromberg, general counsel of Joshua Hills LLC, said, "Our proposed Desert Technology Center will be created to bring a whole new economic market to the Coachella Valley. It will target a specific portion of the high technology marketplace such as software writers, Internet service providers, information technology network companies and research and development companies. Our Center will feature clean business that is environmentally safe and friendly."

It is envisioned that the Joshua Hills development will feature a variety of supporting village type amenities such as golf, a village center, medical facility, a kindergarten through grade 12 school, and public facilities that include Sheriff and fire stations, as well as homes. It will be a fully integrated, well-thought out community for the 21st Century.

The entire development will be emphasized by a well-planned and environmentally sound infrastructure that will include a network of roads, water and sewer systems, waste management and utility systems. All of the infrastructure components feature state-of-the-art technology and include the use of reclaimed water for golf course irrigation.

The master plan is now being developed by the Palm Springs firm of Mainiero, Smith and Associates Inc. Marvin D. Roos, director of planning services for the firm, said, "The Desert Technology Center and the surrounding Joshua Hills development will provide this community with a fabulous opportunity to create a working and living environment that is extremely compatible with the Sky Valley and Indio Hills communities, and the Coachella Valley. It will offer hundreds of year-round employment opportunities."

Roos said, "One of our primary and most vital goals as the process moves along is to ensure that we hear all of the concerns of the community and address every possible environmental issue with an open mind. We want the community to be involved with this exciting project and to understand and share with us our vision for this development."

Roos added, "We have the opportunity, combined with the responsibility through master planning, to strive to accommodate both man-made and natural systems in which each thrives in harmony with each other."

Joshua Hills is committed to the surrounding environment and will create wildlife corridors between the Coachella Valley Preserve and Joshua Tree National Park. Programs designed to promote ecological preservation, recycling and energy conservation will be utilized.