The Citrus At La Quinta

Quorum Article - April 2001

The Citrus at La Quinta, although conceived some 15 years ago, is in fact one of the Coachella Valley’s newer communities. It is walled and gate guarded and occupies a large tract at the NW corner of the intersection of Jefferson Street and Avenue 52.

Landmark Corporation established the golf course and original subdivision but the project became financially troubled and was taken over by the Resolution Trust Corporation in the early 90s. KSL purchased the project from the RTC.  KSL retained the golf course and clubhouse but sold most of the subdivided land to individual builder/developers.

The Citrus Golf, Tennis and Spa Resort is a private golf community which features the Mountain Course, the Dunes Course, the Citrus Course itself, a practice range and putting greens. Many rate the Pete Dye designed Citrus course the finest in the desert.

The elegant 28,000 square foot Citrus clubhouse offers the Citrus Main Dining Room, the Players Lounge, the Citrus Café, and Citrus Golf Shop. Golf and tennis members use the spa, tennis, health club and other amenities at the clubhouse. In addition all Citrus residents are eligible to purchase memberships at the prestigious La Quinta Resort & Club, which offers a tennis center, a new 23,000 square foot spa, swimming pool, and fitness center.

J.M. Peters was one of the first builders at the Citrus. Current participating builder/developers include KSL, Capital Pacific Homes, RJT Homes, Marvin Homes, Sheffield Homes, Century Homes and Desert Housing LLC. The first homes were built about 10 years ago.

As of this writing, 418 homes have been built out of the 544 planned for eventual build-out. At the current rate of construction, this will occur in the first quarter of 2002. Most homes are PUD single-family residences, although they include a group of 40 condos in a sub-association known as the Cayman. Also included are 70 lots set aside for custom homes.

New home prices range from around $300,000 to $1.5 million. Prices for custom lots start at $150,000. Re-sales over the past 12 months have ranged from $700,000 to $1,450,000 for 2,400 square feet to 5,600 square feet with 3 to 5 bedrooms.

The Citrus Course Homeowners Association maintains the common area entrances, the streets and three park-like areas each surrounding its own lake. The HOA also maintains the front yards of all homes, except for the Antigua neighborhood. There are no common area pools, since most homes have their own. Association dues are a low $210 per month.

The Citrus homeowners assumed control of the HOA from the developers in April 2000. In April 2001, all 7 board members will be drawn from the ranks of the homeowners. The very active Landscape and Architectural Committees assist the Board in its duties.

Association Manager is Joanne Williams of PCM/Desert Resort Management. Joanne is assisted by Shadow Palms for Landscaping and Southwest Aquatics for Lakes. Burns International provides 24-hour security at the Jefferson and Avenue 52 gates.

Says Dale Brooks, Association President and an original owner. “A major attraction of the Citrus is its golf package. Also, the fact that it is within the low electricity cost Imperial Irrigation District will be increasingly important in homeowner buying decisions“