BEVERLY HILLS—A $2 billion dollar plan is going into developing 17.5 acres of botanical gardens, condominium towers, and a high-end hotel called “One Beverly Hills” next to the Beverly Hilton Hotel.
The vacant lot between Wilshire and Santa Monica Boulevards was previously occupied by a glamorous Robinsons-May department store. In 2018, partners Alagem Capital group that owns the Beverly Hilton Hotel and Cain International of London bought the property for $445 million from a Beijing-based Dalian Wanda Group.
The partners set up a new plan to build a greenery-filled luxury condo-hotel fully equipped with boutiques, restaurants, hotels and residential homes. They’ve hired Norman Foster, an architect well known for his cylindrical skyscraper designed in London known as the Gherkin and the hoop-shaped Apple Inc. headquarters in California.
The proposed plan involves 2 cylindrical towers containing 303 condominium units (whose prices haven’t been set), a hotel with 48 guest rooms, 37 residential units, and a fancy restaurant. The plan is to open 4.5 acres to the public, while 3.5 acres would cater to the hotel guests and residents.
Landscape architect Mark Rios is in charge of designing the gardens. Talking to the Los Angeles Times about his plans, he said that he wants the greenery to reflect the diversity of Southern California’s landscape. The gardens would include more than 300 species of plants and trees like palms, oaks, sycamores and succulents.
The developers filed the plan on June 28. Assuming approval could take a year, the project may begin by late 2021 and finish by 2024. The towers would be the tallest buildings in Beverly Hills.
