Cain Hopes for $550 Million in Bonds in Beverly Hills

Beverly Hills could soon arrange for a major financing boost for the $5 billion One Beverly Hills redevelopment in Beverly Hills.

The Beverly Hills City Council on Aug. 19 will consider authorizing the issuance of up to $550 million in bonds for Cain International’s One Beverly Hills development at 10000 Wilshire Boulevard, The Beverly Press reported. It would be one of the largest luxury mixed-use developments in Southern California.

Cain is asking the city to form a Community Facilities District on the site, utilizing “a public financing tool authorized under the state’s Mello-Roos Act that allows for the funding of specific public infrastructure and services through special taxes on the properties that directly benefit,” Jeff Muir, director of finance for the city of Beverly Hills, said.

Muir noted the tax is only levied on the properties in the district—in this case, the One Beverly Hills site. The taxes collected would repay the up to $550 million in bonds requested. Earlier this year, Cain secured $300 million in mezzanine financing for the project from Vici Properties.

Spanning 17.5 acres next to the Beverly Hilton, the project calls for two new condo towers rising 412 and 453 feet and the luxury Aman hotel at 124 feet tall. Green space would include four acres of open space reserved for condo residents and 4.5 acres open to the public. Amenities include a conference center, retail and dining space. The project would also include the renovation of the Beverly Hilton hotel.

The project was approved by the City Council in 2021 and is expected to be completed in 2028.

It’s been more than two decades since the city created a CFD and levied a special tax in the Golden Triangle and on Rodeo Drive to pay for upgrades to the area. Mayor Sharona Nazarian believes the bond created there had a “significant” positive impact on the community and is “hoping that this will also have the same kind of process.”

The City Council will take up the matter at its Aug. 19 meeting.

— Chris Malone Méndez