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Gabays seek another year on Golden Triangle hotel plan
City of Beverly Hills approved conversion of office to 154-key boutique in 2020
Almost two years after getting Beverly Hills’ stamp of approval for a new hotel in the Golden Triangle, the Gabay brothers want another year to get started on construction.
Charles Company, run by Mark and Arman Gabay, asked the Beverly Hills Planning Commission for an extension through January 2023, according to planning reports filed last week. Charles Company did not respond to a request for comment.
In January 2020, the Gabays scored approval from the city to convert a 10-story office building at 9111 Wilshire Boulevard into a 154-key hotel. A year later, the developer brothers asked for an extra year to start construction on the property, extending the deadline to January 2022.
Typically, city planning approvals lapse one year after they are issued unless construction has already started. The Beverly Hills planning commission can then issue up to two one-year extensions.
“The last few years have been challenging for everyone and attempting to open a new hotel during these uncertain times has not been an easy task,” Jack Kurchian, a spokesperson for Charles Company, said at a planning commission on March 10.
Kurchian added the company will soon be announcing a deal with an unnamed hospitality group to brand and operate the hotel.
Charles Company, through an affiliated entity called Oakshire, bought the property for $13.75 million in 2013, records show. The property is landmarked by the city, though the city’s planning commission allowed the Gabays exemptions from specific standards to build the project. The building was once home to Kate Mantilini — a 30-year old dining hotspot for Oscar voters.
The proposed hotel includes a pool, hotel bar, meeting and event spaces and lounge.
The plans come as Arman Gabay faces federal bribery charges. In May 2018, Gabay was arrested for allegedly paying off an L.A. County employee in exchange for obtaining a $45 million county lease. He has denied all allegations and his trial is set to begin in May.
The charges haven’t stopped the Gabays from buying and selling properties. In August, the brothers bought a three-building office portfolio in Pasadena for $80 million. They are also planning to build a large residential and retail development in West Hollywood.