Tuesday is decision day for a project that aims to transform Beverly Hills’ famous Rodeo Drive.
Voters are going to the polls to decide if the Beverly Hills Cheval Blanc hotel, a product of the luxury goods conglomerate LVMH Moet Hennessy Louis Vuitton slated for the former site of the Paley Center for Media, should keep its approval from the City Council.
The 109-room project includes about 25,000 square feet of retail space and amenities like a wellness center on one of the world’s most famous luxury shopping destinations.
In addition to hundreds of millions of dollars in tax revenue, the developers will contribute $28 million to city coffers, according to the Los Angeles Times.
However, because the project is being given permission to be larger than the zoning rules for the site allows, Councilman John Mirisch, the lone opponent on the council, said the developers aren’t being asked to do enough.
“We’re effectively doubling the value of their land,” Mirisch told the Times. “And the city negotiated, from my perspective, a measly $28 million.”
Joining Mirisch in opposing the project is Unite Here Local 11, a union that represents hotel workers and desires more affordable housing, something the project does not include.
However, the other four City Council members are in support, including Mayor Julian Gold, who argued in an opinion piece in the Beverly Press that the city’s “first-rate amenities and services” are funded by projects such as this.
“The Cheval Blanc project creates a significant, long-term revenue source to support these and other public services,” he wrote. “The benefit of more than $750 million in revenue to the city over 30 years is staggering.”