LVMH Concedes Probable Defeat in Cheval Blanc Beverly Hills Vote AOC Eye

LVMH Has Conceded Probable Cheval Blanc Defeat

Reading Wednesday LVMH headlines for the week, and hitting “more” beyond the 11B in Arnault’s financial losses this week, I could not believe the headline.

When we first wrote in 2020 about the LVMH plans for a Cheval Blanc Hotel in Beverly Hills, it seemed to be on cruise control, a fait accompli. And it was — until a rebellion brewed when the project was finally approved by the Beverly Hills City Council last fall.

As of May 24 [Wednesday], the “no” votes on the two measures required to greenlight the already-approved Cheval Blanc hotel project in Beverly Hills lead by about 50 votes.

On Friday afternoon, with only 135 vote-by-mail ballots left to be counted, LVMH conceded that it had lost the unexpected, razor-thin referendum organized by labor and select Beverly Hills residents.

My instincts say there’s a solve here, but LVMH issued a statement saying that they accept defeat on building a Cheval Blanc at that location.

"Although some votes remain to be counted, it now appears that Measures B and C have fallen short by a narrow margin, overturning the results of a comprehensive, years-long review and approval process," said Jessica Miller, a LVMH spokesperson. "We are proud to have worked with so many residents, civic leaders and business owners who supported this once-in-a-generation investment that would have delivered hundreds of millions of dollars in city funding and a beautiful gateway project for the Golden Triangle. If the final vote count confirms the voters' rejection of our project, we will respect the outcome, and will not bring the hotel project back in any form."

When we first wrote in 2020 about the LVMH plans for a Cheval Blanc Hotel in Beverly Hills, it seemed to be on cruise control, a fait accompli.

A room at the new Cheval Blanc Paris overlooks the Seine. ***PHOTO:***ALEXANDRE TABASTE for the WSJ Magazine.

When the Cheval Blanc Paris opened in August, 2021, WSJ Magazine titled their overview Inside Paris’s Most Enchanting New Hotel. New York architect Peter Marino described the Cheval Blanc Hotels project to WSJ, saying: “This is sort of a pet project of Mr. Arnault,” says Marino, “a kind of ultimate statement of LVMH.”

This local article outlines the issues around the Cheval Blanc. And here is the LA Times deep dive into the special election for Cheval Blanc.

If you read our entire post in Eye, we have gone even further than these two posts from outside sources in revealing all the players and issues around the razor-thin, probable Cheval Blanc defeat.

The LVMH folks love California for its democratic spirit. Well — they just got a taste of it. ~ Anne