As the 21st century rolled in , developer John Wessman purchased the Desert Fashion Plaza and initially planned a Spanish-Mediterranean plaza on the site . Simultaneously , Saks Fifth Avenue closed down their location and moved to El Paseo down in Palm Desert . At the same time , the attacks on September 11 , 2001 caused the project to slow down
attacks on September 11 , 2001
September 11 attacks
Desert Fashion Plaza