City Council Could Clear Cheval Blanc By Tuesday

BEVERLY HILLS, CA — A new luxury hotel came one step closer to construction in Beverly Hills.

The council on Sept. 20 voted to conditionally approve the massive Cheval Blanc Hotel project that has become a focus of local concern. Council member John Mirisch was the only to vote against the conditional approval.

The council will revisit the project on Tuesday during a council meeting to review the draft development agreement. Should the council agree with the proposed development agreement, the project will have an automatic green light to begin construction in 2022.

The development agreement will include the project's fiscal impact the the city and the public benefit provided by developers to offset the city's efforts.

The Cheval Blanc Hotel, which would not be finished until at least 2025, would include up to 115 guest rooms, a pool deck, spa, restaurants and a private club, according to city documents.

The massive development would take over four existing properties in Beverly Hills, situated between Rodeo Drive, Beverly Drive and South Santa Monica Boulevard: the former Brooks Brothers, Celine store on Rodeo Drive, the Paley Center for Media, a retail building on Beverly Drive and the alley between these four properties.

"From its inception, LVMH has envisioned Cheval Blanc Beverly Hills as a new, modern anchor for Rodeo Drive to balance the iconic and historic Beverly Wilshire at the other end of the street," said Anish Melwani, Chairman and CEO of LVMH in North America.

In the past, locals have raised concern about the building's height and effect on local traffic. The project gradually rises to 115 feet at its tallest point, which required special clearance from the council given the business triangle's present three-story height limit.

Developers made changes to their plans to alleviate locals' concerns and decrease the local traffic impact. These changes included: ensuring public use of the nearby alleyway, decreasing vehicle-use at the hotel's motor court on Santa Monica Boulevard and widening a sidewalk near the hotel, according to city documents.

Council members expressed a number of hopes for the project to include in the development agreement, including city use of the facilities and the public benefits provided to the local community given the immense exceptions made for the project.

Both council member Lester Friedman and Mayor Lili Bosse raised concern about guest access for the development's private club members, asking for more lenient membership.

Friedman also asked for the development agreement to reflect the concessions made by the city. Mirisch proposed both an art museum and support for affordable housing in the city as potential public benefits. He expressed some concern with workers' ability to access the hotel and the need for local affordable housing.

If the project moves ahead, Beverly Hills will join five other cities across the globe to house a Cheval Blanc hotel, owned by the LVMH Group, which brought the city Louis Vuitton and Dior. The Beverly Hills location would be the first Cheval Blanc location in the United States, solidifying the city's status as a global luxury leader, according to Julie Wagner, CEO of the Beverly Hills Conference and Visitors Bureau.

Other Cheval Blanc locations include St. Tropez and Paris.

LVMH already owns and leases 21 properties in Beverly Hills, including the Louis Vuitton, Dior, Fendi and Marc Jacobs stores.

A number of public commenters spoke in support of the project, including a local residents and businesses. Locals spoke with excitement about the project's potential to boost luxury tourism and healthy competition in the city.

"The Cheval Blanc hotel will bring significant investment in our city from world-renowned LVMH, which has a long and fruitful history with our city," Wagner said. "In addition to the tax revenue that's created, it will create an additional vibrancy to Rodeo Drive and to the Golden Triangle, and really our city in general with new life that results in additional traffic to our local businesses as well as attracting new businesses."