The owner of the famed Beverly Hilton hotel has unveiled plans for a mixed-use, high-rise development which would remake the western gateway to Beverly Hills.
The project, called One Beverly Hills, would encompass a roughly 17.5-acre property at the confluence of Wilshire and Santa Monica Boulevards consisting of the Beverly Hilton, a Waldorf Astoria hotel, and the former site of a Robinsons-May department store. Alagem Capital Group, the property owner, has partnered with Cain International to propose a $2-billion complex which would include luxury condos and a hotel situated within eight acres of publicly-accessible gardens.
British architect Norman Foster is designing the project, with Gensler serving as its executive architect. Plans call for the construction of two high-rise buildings containing 303 residential units, as well as a mid-rise hotel featuring 42 suites and 37 residences, and a four-story pavilion with stores and restaurants.
The Los Angeles Times reports that the proposed buildings, rising 28 and 32 stories in height, would rank as the tallest structures in Beverly Hills - similar in scale to the skyscrapers of nearby Century City.
Landscape architecture firm RIOS has been tasked with crafting plans for roughly 10 acres of open space on property, including 4.5 acres of botanical gardens and sculpture gardens that will be made available to the general public. Plans also call for 3.5 acres of gardens and one mile of pathways reserved for residents of the property and hotel guests.
The new construction would require the demoltion of some elements of the existing Beverly Hilton, including the 181-room Oasis Tower and a conference room which would be replaced in the new development.
The developers hope to break ground on the project by late 2021 and complete construction in 2024, according to the Times.
One Beverly Hills represents a familiar strategy for developer Beny Alagem, who has twice sought to reconfigure voter-approved plans for the Beverly Hills site to provide additional open space in exchange for permission to build taller residential towers than otherwise allowed. But unlike in his prior concepts, the new plan for One Beverly Hills incorporates the adjoining Robinsons-May property, which Alagem acquired last year from the Dalian Wanda Group. The Chinese conglomerate previously opposed Alagem's efforts to amend plans for the Beverly Hilton property.
The new proposal for One Beverly Hills discards an approved plan designed by Getty Center architect Richard Meier, which had called for the construction of mid-rise structures containing luxury condominiums and a hotel. That project originated under a prior property owner in 2004.
“The development of One Beverly Hills has been my vision since I became the owner of the Beverly Hilton in 2003. Combining our property with the Robinsons-May property will be transformative for our community,” said Alagem.
One Beverly Hills is being designing the hotel and condominiums with the goal of obtaining LEED Platinum and WELL certifications
- Beverly Hills (Urbanize LA)