ONE BEVERLY HILLS

After years of false starts, One Beverly Hills—formerly 9900 Wilshire—seems ready to break ground in early 2017

The project at the old Robinsons-May department store site in Beverly Hills, formerly known as 9900 Wilshire, has undergone some big changes since its new owners, China-based Wanda Group, bought it in 2014. (The department store building was demolished about two years ago, before Wanda bought the site.) Last year, Wanda announced plans to swap out some of the condos in the long-gestating plan—designed by starchitect Richard Meier—and throw in a five-star hotel instead.

The resulting 193 high-end condos, 134 hotel rooms, and assorted eateries are all wrapped up in a Meier-designed complex that will have a 13-story tower, a 15-story tower, and about three-quarters of an acre of public gardens, says Urbanize LA. According to a new website for the development, now renamed One Beverly Hills, there will also be “2 hours of free valet parking for 20 visitors at a time using the public gardens.” (There will be 1,140 parking spaces in the new complex.)

Last year, the Dalian Wanda Group announced its intention to add a five-star hotel to a proposed $1-billion condominium complex in Beverly Hills.  In preparation for an early 2017 groundbreaking, the Chinese conglomerate, and its partner the Athens Group have set up an official website for the development.

The project, which was purchased by Wanda in 2014 for $420 million, would rise from an eight-acre site at 9900 Wilshire Boulevard.  The property, previously the home of a Robinsons-May department store, is sandwiched between the Beverly Hilton hotel and the Los Angeles Country Club.

The proposed development, dubbed One Beverly Hills, would consist of two mid-rise towers featuring 193 luxury condominiums, 134 hotel rooms and a variety of food-and-beverage venues.  Other elements of the project would include a 1,140-car garage, green space, roof terraces, meeting rooms and event space.

The 13- and 15-story towers, designed by Richard Meier & Partners Architects, would be raised above columns to create an open ground floor with natural lighting and gardens flowing underneath.  Despite their height, the buildings would have a strong horizontal orientation, and would be clad with high-quality materials including floor-to-ceiling windows.

Plans call for nearly .75-acres of public gardens, designed by the landscape architecture firm OLIN.  The linear green space, intended for the east side of the property, is expected to complement the restored Beverly Gardens Park which flanks Santa Monica Boulevard.

According to its website, construction of One Beverly Hills is anticipated to occur over approximately 30 months, placing its completion date near 2020.

The project is one of a number of large-scale developments underway along the Century City – Beverly Hills border, including a 40-story luxury apartment tower, the $800-million expansion of the Westfield Century City and a Waldorf Astoria hotel.