This past February, Disney announced the creation of residential communities across the United States known as Storyliving by Disney.

According to Disney, Storyliving by Disney will be a collection of vibrant new neighborhoods built in select locals across the United States. Each community will be “infused with [Disney’s own] special brand of magic. “Each community will feature distinctively designed spaces, unique amenities, and Disney’s brand of world-renowned service,” states Disney. 

The communities will take their inspiration from the “authentic culture and heritage of each region, crafted with an eye on comfort and design.”

The first community, Cotino, will consist of 1,900 housing types including single-family homes and condominiums located in the heart of the Coachella Valley in Rancho Mirage, California. The Palm Spring neighborhood was a popular place for Walt and Lillian Disney. They even owned a home in the area.

The city of Rancho Mirage has yet to receive any permits from Disney, said city spokesman Gabe Codding, but according to Palm Springs Desert Sun reporter Sherry Barkas, “A construction fence surrounds the site, bordered by Monterey Avenue and Bob Hope Drive on the east and west and Gerald Ford and Frank Sinatra drives on the north and south. Watering started a few weeks ago in preparation for mass grading, which is also underway.”

Grading of the land, which was once part of the Annenberg Estate, will take nine to twelve months to complete.

Barkas reports that a private groundbreaking ceremony will take place at 10 a.m. on Tuesday, 26 April 2022 for invited guests and media.

Disney has yet to reveal what the home prices will be.

“While the specific plan for the land has been approved, Cotino must still go through an application and approval process just as any other development project, which will include presentation before the Architectural Review Board, Planning Commission, and ultimately the City Council, where the public will be able to weigh-in,” reports Barkas.

Although Disney will not build or own the communities, nor will they be selling the homes, they say Walt Disney Imagineers will be involved, along with the builders and developers, to contribute to the overall vision of the neighborhood. Disney has partnered with DMB Development, a Scottsdale-based developer specializing in unique communities in the Western United States, for the Palm Springs project.