City Greenlights Tiffany & Co. Beverly Hills Flagship

Tiffany & Co. is gearing up for a major glow-up on Rodeo Drive, securing city approval to swap a dormant five-story building with a sleek new flagship.

The Beverly Hills Planning Commission on Thursday approved plans from Bernard Arnault’s luxury conglomerate, LVMH Moët Hennessy Louis Vuitton SE, for a new Tiffany & Co. flagship at 360 North Rodeo Drive. The approval allows the company to move ahead with permit applications.

Plans call for tearing down the 62,513-square-foot, five-story vacant building on site that had retail at the base of a four-story Luxe Rodeo Drive Hotel that’s been closed since September 2020. In its place, LVMH will erect a 30,468-square-foot, three-story commercial building for TIffany & Co., according to a Planning Commission report.

New York City-based Peter Marino was tapped as the design architect, and Gruen Associates in Los Angeles is the architect of record. Marino designed the interior of the Tiffany & Co. flagship store in New York City, which is the only one of the brand’s retail stores in the U.S. bigger than the one planned for 360 North Rodeo Drive. Gruen designed the Ralph Lauren boutique at 444 North Rodeo Drive.

LVMH previously submitted plans to build a large new Louis Vuitton store and adjacent campus designed by architect Frank Gehry, a project that’s pending.

The company bought the 80-room Luxe Rodeo Drive Hotel that sits between Brighton and Dayton ways — the only hotel on the high-end street — in 2021 for $200 million.

Topping out at 60 feet, including 15 feet for a rooftop structure and outdoor terrace, the new Tiffany & Co. will be constructed out of anodized aluminum, polished nickel frame, tall glass walls, glass entry doors and metal awnings, per planning documents. Included will be an overhead skylight to illuminate the stairway from floors one to three, and outdoor terraces. On one side there will be a three-story atrium, which may be used to exhibit historical Tiffany jewelry, Sean Devine, vice president of store planning and construction for Tiffany & Co., said at the Planning Commission meeting.

On top of two levels of retail, the third floor will be home to a restaurant with up to 53 seats, serving American French cuisine. The eatery, dubbed Blue Box Cafe, has “not yet been named,” documents indicate.

The rooftop will have an outdoor terrace area reserved for invitation-only appointments and 60-person-maximum catered events for “very important clients,” plans reveal. The rooftop will be outfitted with 1,252 square feet of ornamental landscaping.

Tiffany & Co. will have a three-person valet service. On-site parking will include one level below grade for nine vehicles and a surface parking lot for five vehicles, which the company believes is sufficient on a daily basis. For big events, LVMH will make additional parking arrangements.

Construction is anticipated to take 28 months, with work expected to begin in February.

Once the flagship opens, LVMH will shutter its store at 210 North Rodeo Drive, Devine said.