LVMH Preparing For Defeat On Beverly Hills Hotel After Close Election
It's not looking good for the high-end Cheval Blanc hotel planned for Beverly Hills.
Though the final vote has yet to be certified, current results show the measures LVMH Moët Hennessy Louis Vuitton needed to proceed with its hotel falling short by a "narrow margin," a spokesperson for the company told Bloomberg.
Vote results as of Friday from the Los Angeles County Registrar-Recorder and County Clerk showed the two measures failing by 123 and 125 votes. There are 135 vote-by-mail ballots that are still outstanding. The final vote will be certified on June 2.
"If the final vote count confirms the voters’ rejection of our project, we will respect the outcome, and will not bring the hotel project back in any form,” LVMH spokesperson Jessica Miller said in a statement to Bloomberg.
The project had its supporters, who said the hotel would generate hundreds of millions of dollars for the city over the next 30 years, but also its detractors, who argued that the hotel would cause congestion and was too big for the city. The latter gathered enough signatures to put the fate of the project, which had been approved by the Beverly Hills City Council, up for a vote.
“The Council’s decision was very clear with four out of five voting in support of the project and several being very active in the campaign itself," Beverly Hills Mayor Julian Gold said in a statement to Bisnow. "I believe our community lost an incredible attraction to Rodeo Drive, one which would have provided additional funding for vital City services in the future. While there may be different views on this project, I believe this was a once in a lifetime lost opportunity.”
Beverly Hills has 16 hotels, seven of which are classified as luxury. This hotel would be considered “ultra-luxury,” with an average room expected to cost just over $2K per night, the Beverly Hills Courier reported last year.
