LVMH concedes defeat in Cheval Blanc hotel project in Beverly Hills – WWD

Tension over the future of the multi-million dollar luxury hotel project LVMH Moët Hennessy Louis Vuitton is over.

Days after a special election was held on Tuesday that resulted in a slim majority against the project, LVMH issued a statement acknowledging the defeat of its Rodeo Drive hotel proposal Cheval Blanc.

“Although some votes have yet to be tallied, it now appears that Measures B and C fell just short of expectations, undoing the results of an extensive review and approval process that took years,” said Jessica Miller, a spokeswoman for LVMH . “We are proud to have worked with so many residents, citizens, and business owners who supported this once-in-a-lifetime investment that would have brought the city hundreds of millions of dollars in funding and a beautiful Golden Triangle gateway project.” If the final If the vote count confirms the rejection of our project by voters, we will respect the result and will not bring the hotel project back in any way.”

All those involved in the project have been eagerly awaiting the final results since a special election was held last Tuesday to decide whether the project should continue. A narrow majority of 60 votes rejected the hotel project. But the Los Angeles County electoral registry had to conduct two more rounds of vote counting to tabulate provisional ballots, ballots with conditional voter registration and mail-in ballots that were postmarked on Election Day but arrived later.

The first count after the election on Friday showed that the lead against the hotel had grown to around 125 votes. . Final results will be determined on June 2nd.

John Mirisch, the only councilor who voted against the project, said he was shocked that opposing forces won given the amount of money LVMH spent on the election. “Indeed, the election results, if they stand the test of time, show that Beverly Hills is more than just a brand to monetize. It’s our home,” he said in an email. “Happily, there are still a large number of residents who remain committed to fighting the uphill battle for our community against the forces of self-interest and greed.”

LVMH spent three years providing architectural plans, studies and analysis to ensure the first Cheval Blanc Hotel in the US would be a fit for Beverly Hills. Last November, the 109-room hotel, which spans Rodeo Drive, Little Santa Monica Boulevard and Beverly Drive, received 4-1 approval from the Beverly Hills City Council. The City Council indicated that the city’s new development would generate approximately $778 million in unrestricted funds, $26 million in unrestricted funds, and $2 million in support of local arts and culture over the next 30 years .

Then an opposition led by Unite Here Local 11 and locals against the project gathered enough signatures to trigger a May 23 special election. When the results came out, they showed the opposition initially led by a narrow margin of 60 votes and 92 percent of the vote came from mail-in ballots. Voter turnout was 32 percent.

Residents had to vote on two referendums, one to approve a zoning change and another to codify the city’s development agreement with LVMH. In the referendum on building changes, there were 3,440 yes votes and 3,563 no votes. In the referendum on the development agreement, there were 3,440 yes votes and 3,565 no votes.

Many residents believed the $2,000-a-night hotel would change the small-town vibe of the posh enclave of 32,000 people. It would have grown to nine stories along Beverly Drive, while it would have grown to a more modest four stories on Rodeo Drive, where LVMH has 15 retail locations for its luxury brands. Construction would have required the demolition of four buildings purchased from LVMH and the removal of more than 5,000 truckloads of debris and debris.