Beverly Hills advances municipal bond sale for resort project
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Foster + Partners
An ultra-luxury resort in Beverly Hills won approval from the City Council to form a special taxing district, the first step toward raising as much as $550 million through the municipal bond market.
The city council voted 4-0 to support the creation of the community facilities district after extracting concessions from developer Cain International valued at $140 million, according to Vice Mayor John Mirisch.
“This result truly is the definition of win-win,” Mirisch, who had initially opposed the tax district, said Wednesday. “Good for the developer and good for the City in more than just a theoretical way.”
Money borrowed by the new district would fund streets, parks and other public infrastructure for One Beverly Hills, a development that includes the future site of an Aman Hotel, residential towers and the Beverly Hilton hotel, which each year hosts the
The project is being developed by Cain, the real estate arm of Todd Boehly’s Eldridge Industries; and OKO Group, a luxury resort and residential developer headed by Vlad Doronin, who owns Aman Resorts. The developers, including financial partners JPMorgan Chase & Co. and VICI Properties Inc., planned to raise $5.25 billion in financing, Bloomberg reported last year.
The developers said formation of the tax district “is a critical and time sensitive component” of the project, according
Before the current partners acquired the site in 2018, the land passed through a series of owners, including Christian Candy and Nick Candy; Carlos Slim; and Dalian Wanda Group Co.
The proposed community facilities district would levy a new tax on properties within the two designated improvement areas to pay for the improvements, which will also include tunnels, utilities and ongoing maintenance. It authorizes as much as $550 million in bonds to reimburse the developer. The actual issuance of any debt is expected to occur close to the project’s expected opening in 2028 and would require separate City Council approval, according to a city presentation.
Tax district approval requires a vote of residents in the area, but there are no registered voters in the proposed community, so only the landowners are eligible to cast ballots, according to Therese Kosterman, a city spokesperson.
The bonds will be secured solely by properties in the district, leaving the city’s general fund unaffected, according to the presentation. Provisions for delinquent payments include senior liens, foreclosure remedies and a reserve fund to cover temporary shortfalls in debt service.
