Developer drops plans for Beverly Hills apartments, will build condos instead

A Beverly Hills residential development in the works for more than a decade is moving forward after the city’s planning commission signed off on the project Thursday.

Planned for 9200 Wilshire Boulevard, the project was previously approved in 2007 as a 54-unit condominium structure, but developer New Pacific Realty changed course, resubmitting the project as a 90-unit apartment complex with 5,700 square feet of commercial space.

The developer pitched the rare-for-Beverly Hills apartment project as a necessary boost to the city’s low supply of rental housing. But the revised plans faced stiff resistance from many local residents, who argued that the new development would increase traffic in the area and put a strain on city services.

“The approved 54 condominiums, let alone the sought after 90 [apartments] is outrageous, excessive and unreasonable,” resident Allyson Wittner wrote in a letter to the planning commission, claiming that the project would “alter the quality of life for neighborhood residents with traffic and noise.”

In response to those complaints, as well as the concerns of planning staff, the city formed an ad hoc committee in July to reassess the project. As a result, it was resubmitted with a concept strikingly similar to what was approved in 2007.

The development is now set to include 54 condo units—not apartments—as well 7,303 square feet of commercial space (about half of what was approved in 2007). The project will also have 220 parking spaces, 55 fewer than were originally approved.

Designed by MVE Architects, the project will have a contemporary design with walls of glass and balconies for residents. The complex will be topped by multiple rooftop decks with amenities that include a swimming pool, fitness center, and landscaped open space.

A spokesperson for the architecture firm tells Curbed that a development timeline for the project has not yet been established.

• New apartments are rare in Beverly Hills. New plans would bring 90 units to the neighborhood [Curbed LA]
• Inside Empire at Burton Way, new apartments in Beverly Hills [Curbed LA]
• Seven-story project with 90 apartments planned just south of Beverly Hills [Curbed LA]