LVMH lost plans to build its first hotel on Rodeo Drive after Beverly Hills voters rejected a proposal to build the 109-key Cheval Blanc.
The future of the 468 Rodeo Drive development is in the hands of voters after union Unite Here Local 11 gathered enough signatures to trigger a citywide vote. The ballot asks voters whether they should overturn a development agreement for the project approved by city council last year.
LVMH, run by the world’s richest man, Bernard Arnault, will now cancel plans for the project and will not run for election, a spokesman for LVMH said in an email.
The decision ended with just 80 votes, according to the Los Angeles County Clerk’s Office. The end result was 50.6% in favor of rejecting the agreement and city approval.
About 32 percent of registered city voters participated in the special election, according to the clerk’s office.
Since the Beverly Hills City Council approved the project in September and a development agreement two months later, LVMH has been on hold pending the outcome of a special election.
The vote is a blow to both the French luxury retailer and the city’s revenues — under the deal, the hotel is expected to bring Beverly Hills at least $725 million over 30 years. LVMH has also agreed to pay pro bono fees of at least $28 million.
“It’s a staggering amount,” Beverly Hills deputy mayor Julian Gold said at a council meeting in November. “In some cities, it’s their general fund.”
At the same meeting, representatives of Unite Here Local 11 expressed opposition to the project, saying more funds needed to be set aside for affordable housing for workers.
Before the vote, Anish Melwani, who oversees LVMH’s North American subsidiary, told the Los Angeles Times that the company had no plans to re-examine the project before the council if voters refused to approve it. Instead, the company revived the site as more of a retail operation.
“We have no interest in building a hotel in a neighborhood that doesn’t want us there,” he said.
LVMH has opened 15 stores in the larger Golden Triangle area of Rodeo Drive and Beverly Hills.
The company could also make a second attempt at a hotel on Rodeo Drive. In 2021, the company paid $200 million for a recently closed 86-room hotel at 449 North Rodeo Drive from Australian hotelier Efram Harkham and his family. No plans have been submitted for this property yet.
