*he Louis Vuitton flagship will be designed by Frank Gehry. Rendering courtesy of Louis Vuitton*

The Beverly Hills Planning Commission unanimously approved the proposed Louis Vuitton flagship store and exhibition space at its September 25th meeting. In a LVMH saga AOC has followed for several years, the commission approved a Development Plan Review, a Conditional Use Permit and Rooftop Dining Permit.

Designed by architect Frank Gehry, and located on Rodeo Drive, the Louis Vuitton cutting-edge, experiential design complex will span the block of South Santa Monica Boulevard between Rodeo and Beverly Drive.

Gehry’s sculptural design imprint for three-story windowless building includes two buildings with pedestrian bridges and an inner courtyard. Peter Marino is in charge of interior design.

The Louis Vuitton West Coast flagship design encompasses 105, 214 square feet. Entrances to the complex are on Rodeo Drive and Beverly Drive, with each point of entrance revealing a larger space having a unique identity. The Beverly Hills Courier reports the architectural overview.

Rodeo Portion

At 45,433 square feet, the Rodeo portion is designated for retail use and will include over 6,000 square feet carved out for important clients. Special events will be hosted on the rooftop of the Rodeo portion.

Beverly Portion

The Beverly portion, at 54,723 square feet, will feature the exhibition space, a gift shop, a café, a fine dining restaurant and operational space. The first of its kind in the U.S., the exhibition space will spotlight Louis Vuitton’s history as a leader of culture, art and design.

Access to the exhibition space will be managed by reservation only — a typical museum experience in today’s world — and with a maximum of 1,500 admissions per day Monday through Saturday and 1,169 on Sundays.

Construction of this fabulous project for Los Angeles is expected to start in the second half of 2026 and conclude in the second quarter of 2029.

All Calm on the Union Front

The Unite Here Local 11 union, representing hospitality workers at the initially-proposed LVMH Cheval Blanc hotel on this same site, defeated the project at a special election in May 2023. They were joined by the Residents Against Overdevelopment in Beverly Hills.

The new Louis Vuitton project is smaller in scale at three stories, rather than the proposed and approved nine-story Cheval Hotel project, which actually would have cast a significant shadow over the area. Probing hard on this second possibility for another big fight and community referendum trying to defeat the LV project, AOC notes limited discussions of union and community pushbacks.

All Sources Say This Louis Vuitton Project Is a Go

One assumes that the Louis Vuitton team really did their homework after the Cheval Blanc disaster. All sources say this project is a ‘go’ — and Anne is framing her research questions trying to think of everything that could go wrong. I know how to trick AI questions into truthful responses.

So many of us are devoted to Los Angeles and its future. Frank Gehry designed pro bono The Children’s Institute [CII] in Watts, Los Angeles, which opened in the summer of 2022. The prestige of the 20,000 square-foot facility being designed by the world-renowned architect has been a beacon of hope to the people of Watts.

Anne says: it’s a go as long as US President Donald J Trump doesn’t scare the hell out of LVMH with his constant bashing of the city of Los Angeles. Not a day goes by without Trump finding something really ugly to say about LA, and I worry constantly that he will somehow jinx this great LVMH/Louis Vuitton project. ~ Anne