Beverly Hills Voters To Decide Fate Of Ultra-Luxury LVMH Hotel This Week
An election Tuesday will determine whether a hotel project from LVMH, the parent company of Louis Vuitton, can proceed in Beverly Hills.
The Beverly Hills City Council approved the project but a small group of objectors concerned about the impact of the project gathered sufficient signatures to put the matter to an election. The election could result in the council’s approval being overturned, the Los Angeles Times reported.
The opposition includes a group called Residents Against Overdevelopment and the hotel workers union Unite Here Local 11, the Los Angeles Times reported. The union’s opposition was partially in response to the city’s development agreement with LVMH not specifying any funds for affordable housing, which is especially rare in Beverly Hills.
The city has 16 hotels, seven of which are classified as luxury, according to the LA Times. This hotel would be considered “ultra-luxury,” with an average room expected to cost just over $2K per night, the Beverly Hills Courier reported late last year when the council gave its approval.
The proposed hotel, The Beverly Hills Cheval Blanc, would be the fifth in the budding chain of luxury resorts by LVMH. Other hotels include one in the French Alps and another in St. Barts island in the Caribbean.
The development agreement between Beverly Hills and LVMH outlines flat-rate contributions that LVMH would make, including $26M to the city’s general fund and $2M for art and cultural programs, as well as annual contributions the hotel would make over time, including a 5% “surcharge” on top of the city’s 14% transient occupancy tax or hotel bed tax.
LVMH spent $465M to buy the property and projections for development costs are around $666M, the Beverly Hills Courier reported. The company is also investing in its retail storefronts on Rodeo Drive.
