The mall was originally developed by the Home Savings and Loan Association, which sold the shopping center to Desert Plaza Partnership.

[5] In the early 1980s, Desert Plaza Partnership sold the property to DeBartolo Corporation which expanded and revamped the mall to accommodate more shops.

[10] The project would have originally included a swimming pool, a Las Vegas-style restaurant, and a theater for both Broadway plays and cinema films during the winter and summer seasons, respectively.

[9] Alexander and Firks originally envisioned an eight-story hotel that would accommodate 300 rooms and a 1,600 parking space facility for a proposed $4 million.

[12] On November 14, 1965, Alexander and his spouse Mildred, along with their son Robert and his wife Helene, were all killed when their plane impacted shortly after taking off from Palm Springs International Airport.

That same year, developer Joseph K. Eichenbaum released a statement on plans to construct a multi-million dollar commercial center on the old site.

[17][18] A month before the mall opened, Luckman and Leonard R. Lockhart, the first vice president of the Home Savings and Loan Associates, were both honored by Southern California Edison for the all-electrical design.

[20] The new store would anchor at the corner of North Palm Canyon Drive and Andreas Road and was set to open in September of the same year.

In addition, 12 other major establishments also opened up in the new mall, including Bank of America, Belmont Savings & Loan, P'iddlers Three Restaurant, Stuard's Sahara, Silverwoods, Islamania, Michael's, Robert Sands Hairstyling, Master's Candies, Village Card & Gift Shop and Orange Julius.

In the years to come, retail sales declined and by 1991, Silverwoods men's clothing and Marie Callender's moved out of the still partially vacant Desert Fashion Plaza.

[27] Arizona Partners planned on expanding the Desert Fashion Plaza to over 350,000 square feet and removing the roof to make the mall open-air.

The main entrance was to be an open-air plaza with outdoor dining, shops, and gathering places, plus a 3,000-seat cinema and a 2,400-seat live theater; the project would have been renamed The Promenade.

Proposed tenants included Saks, a two-story multiplex theater, a food court, a gourmet market, restaurants and various specialty shops.

Simultaneously, Saks Fifth Avenue closed down its location and moved to a new store in the El Paseo shopping district in Palm Desert.

[31][32] Before the construction commenced in the middle of the same year, a lawsuit was filed by Frank Tysen, a member of the Citizens for a Sustainable Palm Springs, and owner of Casa Cody Bed & Breakfast.