The Borrego Village Association, a non-profit organization planning for the development of Borrego’s central business district, is seeking your input regarding a redesign of Palm Canyon Drive.
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Business Information & Opportunities

Borrego Springs, California is an appealing rural desert community located in Northeastern San Diego County between San Diego and Palm Springs. Borrego is in its formative discovery period and offers a variety of promising business opportunities due to its currently under-developed retail and commercial state, its growing population base, and its strong seasonal tourist and visitor based economy.

Borrego is notable because of its scenic beauty, pristine clean air and uncrowded, leisurely pace. It is located at the center of the Anza Borrego Desert State Park (the largest state park in the Continental United States encompassing approximately 1,200 square miles). Surrounded by rugged mountains and desert flora and fauna, Borrego Springs offers a variety of activities to residents and visitors, including sightseeing, hiking, off-road desert exploration, biking, horseback riding, tennis and golf. Additionally, Borrego Springs has an active art community, with several local galleries and a Performing Arts Center featuring amateur and professional performances throughout the busy season. An eclectic retail community adds shopping to the activity list. Borrego is recognized internationally for its annual desert wildflower bloom and for its Dark Skies designation. And, the community hosts several annual festivals, including Borrego Days in late October.

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Attractive Destination

Borrego offers an attractive destination for overnight visitors from nearby major population centers of San Diego (2hrs away) and Los Angeles (approximately 3 hours away). Additionally, its temperate winter climate, with daytime temperatures in the 70s and 80s, attracts many “snowbirds” and other long distance visitors from colder northern United States and Canada. The Anza Borrego Desert State Park is a major draw for visitors, bringing in between 650,000 and 1,000,000 visitors annually. The Park’s Visitor Center, located on the edge of Borrego Springs, hosts an estimated 125,000 visitors per year.

Currently, business in Borrego is highly seasonal, with the most profitable season from October through May, when tourists and other visitors make the town bustle.  During the summer months (June through September) it can be very hot, tourist and visitor traffic thins significantly, and some business owners shutter operations. However, the climate is similar to that in neighboring Palm Springs, which remains active throughout the summer months.  Borrego, like Palm Springs, has the potential to significantly increase its summer and shoulder season business. 

With a current full-time population estimated by the US Census at approximately 2,500, Borrego Springs’ residential base is growing as a result of its desirability as a retirement community and as a location for second homes in a temperate, healthy environment. It is estimated that the population swells to approximately 8,000 during the busy winter season.   And, San Diego County planning guidelines anticipate a population of 13,000 to 16,000 in the next 2 decades.

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Housing Developments Planned

Currently, a number of significant housing developments are in the works, including:

  • Montesoro, a high-end golf course community with 200 homes built and another 500 planned;

  • Road Runner Club with 21 homes built and another 226 planned;

  • AMG developments with 200 condominiums and 530 single family homes planned;

  • Yaqui Ranch with 300 homes planned;

  • Country Club Estates, with 250 homes planned.

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Numerous Overnight Accommodations

Borrego Springs offers a variety of overnight accommodations for short-term visitors, from luxury hotel rooms to developed and undeveloped campsites. These include:

  • 350 hotel and motel rooms;

  • 120 RV spaces, with another 365 planned;

  • 65 tent sites and 57 full-hookup RV campsites associated with the State Park;

  • More than 70 vacation rental homes and condominiums.

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Target Markets

The targeted customers for Borrego Springs business can be segmented as follow:

  • Full time residents who live year round in Borrego Springs;

  • Part time residents who have second homes in Borrego Springs, including “snowbirds” who come for several months during the Winter as well as “weekenders” from the San Diego and Los Angeles metropolitan areas who come over regularly throughout the year;

  • Overnight tourists or visitors who spend one or multiple nights in Borrego Springs. These include many “regulars” who return year after year and multiple times throughout the year;

  • “Day trippers” who travel to Borrego Springs from surrounding urban centers as a single-day outing to enjoy the scenery, clean air, and small town atmosphere.

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Several Potential Business Opportunities

Several potential business opportunities exist now in Borrego Springs, in part because the business base has been relatively undeveloped to date. Residents and visitors alike are very supportive of locally owned businesses, adding to opportunities for success. While a basic grocery store, hardware store, pharmacy, and several restaurants currently serve the community, numerous opportunities exist to provide expanded products and services which are currently available only by making a 90 minute drive to San Diego, Palm Springs or El Centro.  Another significant area of business opportunity exists in serving active, health-oriented visitors to the valley. Among such opportunities are a bicycle shop, roller blade rentals, and a variety of wellness related spas, practitioners and treatment facilities.

Borrego Springs offers a particularly desirable location for family or proprietor owned businesses. The community offers quality schools, an active civic infrastructure and a friendly and healthy, small town living environment which is a rare find in today’s world. 

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Active Chamber of Commerce & Visitors' Bureau

Borrego Springs has an active Chamber of Commerce & Visitor's Bureau that is launching an ambitious online marketing program and other promotional initiatives for print and online venues to promote the community and its special assets as the “someplace other, someplace different and someplace special”.

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Borrego Village Association

In conjunction with these initiatives, the Borrego Village Association, a non-profit organization formed as an outgrowth of the Chamber of Commerce, has the specific charter of catalyzing the development of Borrego Springs’ central business district. The BVA has begun formulating a plan for the downtown core along Palm Canyon Drive, which includes pedestrian walkways, traffic calming medians, and new commercial buildings to accommodate a growing retail base. Plans have recently been announced for a new retail building, which will house Borrego Outfitters and Gourmet Outfitters, two popular Borrego Springs businesses, and is anticipated to anchor the downtown vitalization effort.

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