Laguna Beach-based Montage Hotels & Resorts LLC won a hard-fought battle in Tuesday’s voting in Beverly Hills.
The operator of Laguna Beach’s Montage Resort and Spa saw Beverly Hills voters approve a hotel project there after a bitter campaign. The city’s Measure A passed by a 54% margin.
The vote was a referendum on the $200 million Montage Hotel Beverly Hills and Public Gardens project.
Montage Hotels & Resorts is working with developer Athens Group on the project, which calls for a 214-room hotel, 25 condominiums, 33,000 square feet of gardens and a 1,172-space underground parking garage.
The Beverly Hills City Council approved the project last year. Opponents forced a referendum.
Supporters, including Beverly Hills Mayor Mark Eggerman, say the project will bring more than $50 million a year in added revenue for the city and revitalize a long-neglected portion of the “Golden Triangle.”
Opponents still have a lawsuit pending against the project.
Most of the funding for the “No” campaign came from a rival hotel operator, Probity International Corp., which owns the 200-room, five-star Peninsula Beverly Hills.
