The “It” buildings in each of The Real Deal’s markets are condo developments that typify the moment in their regions, according to brokers, insiders and our reporters’ carefully honed instincts. You can read the full series here.
If being tight-lipped is a measure of a condo tower’s luxe credentials, the incoming Aman Residences in Beverly Hills is vying for gold.
Details on the pair of high rises, Aman’s first development in California and part of what the firm is calling its West Coast “destination,” are scant. Still, the ultra-luxury resort brand’s choice to be part of a landmark Beverly Hills development will be the market’s greatest test of vertical living in a city known more for its single-family homes than condo life.
“It’s a very exciting project architecturally. The amenities are really cool, and it will definitely be the No. 1 most luxurious project in all of Los Angeles,” the Agency CEO and co-founder Mauricio Umansky said.
Aman Beverly Hills consists of a 78-unit Aman hotel and two residential towers, one 28 stories and the other 31, with views of the Los Angeles Country Club and the development’s gardens. Life at the residences comes with membership to the exclusive Aman Club where wellness and dining are among the amenities.
The residences and hotel are part of One Beverly Hills, the 17.5-acre mixed-use project being developed by Cain International and OKO Group. It’s backed by more than $2 billion in financing, with Lord Norman Foster’s Foster + Partners behind the project’s master plan. When completed in the final quarter of 2027, One Beverly Hills will include 10 acres of botanical gardens, the Beverly Hilton and Waldorf Astoria.
Neither Umansky nor any other agent in the market is representing Aman, with the resort company handling sales in-house, further adding to the project’s mystique.
Aman said through a spokesperson that more than half of the first residential tower, which currently has 69 residences being marketed for sale, is under contract and going for “record-breaking prices per square foot” for Los Angeles. The individual declined to share pricing or square footage for the condos.
The lack of information leaves room for debate about Aman’s it factor.
“The significance [of the Aman Residences] will have a lot to do with when we see the sellout or acceptance of the pricing and people actually moving in there,” Umansky said.
In a region that has not historically been a condo market, where developers have a tendency to overestimate their absorption rates and sellouts, demand has increased for high-rise living since the Palisades and Eaton fires, Umansky noted.
Tomer Fridman of Christie’s International Real Estate Southern California said he’s had some clients express interest in the Aman Residences. As with other branded residential projects, those already familiar with the brand might have enough loyalty to reduce their hesitation about high rises.
“This is the first time in L.A. history where people have a big appetite for vertical living,” Fridman said.
Fridman, along with team member Amir Ensani and Compass’ Sally Forster Jones, were behind last year’s top condo sale in the city of Los Angeles at Emaar North America’s Beverly West. The trio sold the top-floor penthouse in the luxury high-rise at 1200 Club View Drive for $23.5 million.
Fridman and Forster Jones also represent the Rosewood Residences in Beverly Hills. He estimated, based on what he’s sold, units in the ultra-luxury segment currently average between $3,000 and $5,000 per square foot.
Umansky thinks lower: a range of $2,300 to $2,400 per square foot.
In other words, it’s anyone’s guess as to what Aman residences may be in contract for.
“What’s important is it’s not a price-per-square-foot play,” Fridman said. “It’s an amenities and lifestyle play.”
Buyers are attracted to full-service buildings, where there’s everything from security to suggestions on preferred vendors for dog walking.
“If you build it, they will come,” Fridman said. “But it has to be very, very bespoke.”